The Final Battle
by TheFndObsCmdn
Summary: Robotnik is tired of dealing with Sonic, so he hires someone to kill the hedgehog. But he wants to torture Sonic before he begins their final duel to the death. Not a good summary. Please read and review!Rated T for some swearing and violence.
1. Assassination

**I OWN NOTHING BUT THE STORYLINE!**

Chapter 1: Assassination

"So who's the target?" asked the man who stood in front of Robotnik. He was wearing a very dark, black suit and had black, slicked-back hair.

"Him," said Robotnik coldly as he handed a picture to the man. "I want you to kill him."

"That'll cost you more," said the man as he handed the picture back.

"More?" asked Robotnik angrily. "Why more?"

"Two reasons," said the man as he held up his index and middle finger to the scientist's face. "One: I don't like killing kids. And two: I was offering you a discount because I thought you wanted me to kill the hedgehog. I want him dead too, but since he isn't the target, standard price. Plus some extra because of his age."

"That's ridiculous!" shouted an outraged Robotnik.

"Take it or leave it, buddy," said the man shortly. "Call me when you've made up your mind." He started to walk out of the room, but he was intercepted by a large robot with a very large gun trained on him.

"Or I could just offer you your life in return for your services," said Robotnik menacingly.

"Go ahead, kill me," said the man with a smirk. "Good luck trying to find someone else who can kill Sonic The Hedgehog and get away with it."

"And how hard can that be?" asked Robotnik challengingly.

"Pretty hard," said the man. "When I kill him, everyone is going to point the finger at you. You're the first person in line for this job. But I can hide our tracks, I can make sure that whatever accusations they throw at you, you can disprove. All you have to do is deny everything and I can do the rest. You hire anyone else and you're both screwed."

"Fine, you convinced me," said Robotnik reluctantly, not particularly liking the fact that he'd lost the argument. "I'll pay you."

"Good, now I need a couple things before I can handle this," said the man with a smile. "First, I need information on our little hedgehog; a list of his favorite places to spend time, a job, if he has one, home address, a list of all his friends, their jobs, their favorite places, their addresses, stuff like that."

"Here," said Robotnik. He handed a folder to the man.

"Good, now I just need a place and a time to take the shot," said the man.

"Tomorrow," said Robotnik. "He's going to be at the cafe across the street from city hall. I was able to intercept this last night." Robotnik pressed a button and a recording played. It was a recording of Amy asking Sonic and Tails to meet her at the cafe Robotnik mentioned. Then the recording played Sonic's voice, which sounded subtly irritated, saying that he would meet her there tomorrow.

"Good," said the man indifferently.

* * *

"Here's a good spot," said Amy as she led Sonic and Tails to a table outside the cafe. They all sat down and Amy took a sip of her coffee.

"Okay, Amy, why'd you ask us here?" asked Sonic.

"Oh, no reason," she said as she took another sip of her coffee. "I just thought it'd be fun to hang out together." She smiled at Sonic, who rolled his eyes.

"Okay, then," said Sonic. "I'll stay a while. Probably a few more minutes. I have some other things to do today."

* * *

The mystery assassin opened the door to the roof of the city hall building. He had stolen a city maintenance worker's uniform and a maintenance van. He walked in with his disguise and was able to walk straight up to the roof without any difficulty.

He pulled a disassembled sniper rifle out of his bag and put it together. He mounted it on the edge of the roof and took aim. He saw his target. He saw the golden-orange fur at the table, the smile on his face, the young life in the fourteen-year-old's eyes. The man never liked when his profession called for him to kill a child, and, under normal circumstances, he would have refused the job outright, but he knew that this was a necessary sacrifice, collateral damage that couldn't be avoided in the war he was waging with the hedgehog that the small fox idolized.

The sniper took careful aim. He wanted to hit the fox in the right place. Either the heart or the brain. He wanted his death to be instantaneous. Painless. He didn't want the poor kid to know what hit him. In one blink of an eye, he'd be out. Gone. He tried to aim for the head, but the fox was too jittery. He kept moving his head around. So the sniper tried for the heart. This was a much easier target. He took careful aim, trying to be as accurate as possible. Finding the perfect moment, the sniper jumped on the opportunity and squeezed on the trigger.

* * *

"Okay," said Sonic, standing up from the chair. "I think it's time we left." They had been sitting for minutes of nothing but silence. They all were just sitting there, Sonic growing impatient, Amy staring at him, and Tails drinking his coffee.

"No, c'mon Sonic, stay," said Amy, grabbing his wrist.

"Yeah, Sonic, let me just finish my coffee," said Tails, taking another sip from the cup in his hand. He heard the ring of the cell phone he had built for himself. He called it a cell phone, but really, a better name for it would have been "advanced computer". He built it into face of his watch. He would remove the face, lay it on a surface, and press it and a holo-screen and holo-keyboard would pop up to allow interface with the device.

Tails pulled the face of the watch off of the band that was wrapped around his wrist. He made to put it on the table, but it slipped in his grip and fell onto the ground. Then, suddenly, immediately as he bent over to pick it up, a small, loud CRACK erupted out of nowhere and Tails's left shoulder exploded with a spatter of blood that sprayed across Sonic's face and torso. Then Tails's back exploded immediately after as the murderous projectile exited from his body out the back of his shoulder and embedded itself in the concrete. Tails was thrown to the ground from the force of the shot. He felt the warm blood flood slowly across his chest and under his back as it leaked from his wound. He gasped and moaned from the pain. He saw Sonic standing over him, horror-stricken and shocked, panicking, unable to think of something to do for Tails. Tails heard Amy still screaming as she kneeled down by him in the small pool of his blood. He heard sirens approaching.

"Sonic..." Tails choked out through the pain.

"Save your breath, Tails," said Sonic, placing his hand reassuringly on Tails's bloody chest. "Save your strength. I'll make sure you get through this." Tails stopped trying to speak. The pain was too much for him to pursue the ambition to communicate what could possibly be his last words to his best friend. Then he thought of one word that he knew would be worth the pain asking. One thing he had to know, if he could, before he moved on.

"S- Sonic... Why?" Tails asked his brother with a gasp of pain.

"I don't know," said Sonic sadly. Tails didn't see much after that. He blacked out shortly after.

* * *

A millisecond after pulling the trigger, the sniper realized his mistake. He knew it wasn't really a mistake, but more of a personal inconvenience. He watched as the small fox across the street started to bend down before the bullet made impact in his shoulder rather than his heart, the intended target. The sniper knew that the shot would probably be fatal nonetheless, but he hadn't wanted to put the fox kit through the pain he would now experience before he would finally die.

"Collateral damage," the sniper muttered to himself as he walked away, taking the bag with him, but leaving the rifle behind. He knew the rifle was clean, but people had seen him walking through the building with the backpack on. He opened the door to the roof and started to walk down the stairs. He stopped in his tracks when he heard a group of rushed footsteps. The sniper decided that now would be a great opportunity to sell the deception. He turned around and walked quietly back out the door. He started breathing fast and jogging in place at a fast pace. He stopped and started to breathe heavily but fast.

A group of police officers and security guards burst through the door and looked at him. He bent over, acting as if he was slightly out of breath.

"I heard the gunshot," he said to the officers. "I tried to get him, but he jumped to the roof of the building in back. He's gonna get away." The officers looked to the roof behind them and then took off back into the building. The sniper followed them at a walking pace and made his way to the ground floor of the three-floor city hall building. He walked casually out of the building and watched as the fox was loaded onto the ambulance, leaving the hedgehog behind. After it drove away, the sniper saw the blue hedgehog run after the ambulance at an impossible speed for a runner and a pink hedgehog get into her car and drive off to follow the ambulance to the hospital. The sniper walked down the street, got in his van, and took off in the opposite direction, off to collect his blood money.

TO BE CONTINUED...

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Please Review!**


	2. Investigation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Not by best chapter. Sorry. Hoping to be able to upload at least every weekend.  
**

* * *

"Is he okay?" Sonic asked worriedly when the doctor walked up to him.

"Calm down, he's fine," said the wolf doctor. "He's stable. And it's a miracle he is. There was only one thing that kept him alive. You know what that was?"

"What?" asked Sonic.

"Pure luck," said the doctor. "That's it. Luck. The bullet went straight through him without hitting any bones, organs, or major blood vessels. A couple millimeters up, down, left, or right and he might not have made it."

"Can I talk to him?" asked Sonic.

"Not right now," said the doctor. "He hasn't woken up yet. He should regain consciousness sometime later tonight."

"Okay, then," sighed Sonic. "I gotta go talk to the police about this. See if they figured out who shot him and why. I don't know anyone who wants Tails dead."

"Okay, good luck with that," said the doctor.

"'Kay, thanks," said Sonic. Then Amy came running up to Sonic holding a couple papers in her hand. She gave one to him.

"Take a look at this," said Amy. There were three pictures on it. The first one was in the lower left quarter of the paper. It was a picture that looked like it had been from a security camera, judging by the angle of the picture, of him, Tails, and Amy sitting at the cafe. It showed Sonic standing up, Amy holding his wrist, and Tails messing with his watch. Sonic realized that it was from a few moments before Tails was shot. Then Sonic winced when he saw the picture next to it. The picture next to it was almost the same picture, but it was blown up and it depicted everyone at the table with a shocked face as Tails shoulder exploded with blood. There was a bright green dotted line drawn into the picture pointing from the side of the photo to the exact place where the bullet entered Tails's shoulder. Then Sonic looked at the third picture that dominated the entire top half of the paper. It was exactly the same as the first picture, but the same green dotted line from the second picture was in it.

"Okay," said Sonic slowly. "I know I'm looking at pictures from a security camera. That's about it."

"What do you think the green line is?" asked Amy.

"I don't know," said Sonic.

"It's the trajectory of the bullet," said Amy.

"How does that help us?" asked Sonic in a confused voice.

"Okay, I had a brilliant idea when the cops showed me the security footage," said Amy.

"Why'd they show you the security footage?" asked Sonic.

"I wanted to see if I could find Tails's shooter," said Amy with a smile.

"And you didn't trust the cops to do that?" said Sonic as he looked back at the paper.

"I was trying to help," said Amy defensively. "Anyway, it's a good thing I did, because I gave them more to go on."

"How?" asked Sonic.

"Well, that's what the picture's about," said Amy. "I asked the cops if they could freeze the footage on the exact time that the bullet made impact in Tails's shoulder." She pointed to the picture in the bottom right of the paper.

"Then I asked if they could trace the trajectory of the bullet," continued Amy as she pointed to the green dotted line in each of the pictures. "I remembered how Tails was bending down to pick up his watch when the shot was fired. So I asked them to take a still photo of Tails when he wasn't bending down, 'cause I was assuming that the sniper was trying to target something else when he fired, but Tails bent over and messed his shot up. Then I asked them to take the trajectory and put in this photo of Tails before he bent down."

"So that shows the area that the sniper was actually targeting," said Sonic. "Which is where exactly? The picture shows around the center of his chest, but do you have an exact target?" Amy held up a diagram of a normal fourteen-year-old fox. There was a small red circle around the center of the chest and there was a small blue dot in the center of the circle.

"The red circle is the approximate area of the impact in case we weren't very accurate in tracing the trajectory," said Amy. "The blue dot is where the bullet would have hit if we were accurate with the trajectory. Anyway you take it, the bullet goes right through Tails's heart. Whoever did this is a professional, he's good, and he was definitely aiming for Tails."

"Okay, now tell me how that helps us," said Sonic.

"The cops were positing some scenarios that you were the target and the sniper bungled the shot and hit Tails by accident," said Amy. "I proved them wrong and now they're not looking down that wrong direction. Plus, knowing he's a pro, and a good pro at that, narrows down the suspect list."

"Okay, good job, Amy," said Sonic with a smile.

"Thanks," said Amy. "So how's Tails doing?"

"Fine," sighed Sonic. "They said it was a miracle he survived. The doctor said the bullet hit him in the perfect spot. It missed all the bones, organs, and major blood vessels. He survived on pure luck. They said if it had been a couple millimeters up, right, left, or down, he probably wouldn't have made it."

"Wow," said Amy. "That's a little scary. Well, at least he's fine now." She pulled Sonic over to a seat by the wall and sat him down next to her.

"No," Sonic said as he stood back up.

"Aww, c'mon Sonic," said Amy. "Sit down next to me."

"No," said Sonic. He started walking towards the exit of the building.

"Where are you going?" asked Amy as she stood back up.

"To find the bastard who tried to kill my best friend," Sonic replied angrily without turning around.

* * *

"Why?" a voice shouted from the entrance behind Dr. Robotnik. He turned around to face the voice.

"Why what?" asked Robotnik as he came face to face with the sniper he hired.

"Why did you hire me to kill a fox child?" asked the sniper angrily.

"Why do you care?" asked Robotnik.

"I make it a point to avoid killing children when I can avoid it," said the sniper. "I really don't like doing it. Now I wanna know why I just ended the short life of a teenage fox. You owe me at least that much, along with the money we agreed on." Robotnik threw a bag down to him. It landed at his feet with a dull thud.

"There's your money," said Robotnik with a smile. "As for the fox, I wanted revenge."

"On the fox?" asked the sniper.

"No, on the hedgehog," said Robotnik. "That hedgehog has been foiling and thwarting and thrashing me for far too long. I want him taken out of the equation, but first, I want him to experience the pain he's caused me over the years. I'm gonna torture him before I finish him off. I'm gonna enjoy every bit of it too. That fox was like his brother. Can you think the pain that he's experiencing right now as he's attempting to recover from watching him die?"

"Well, you call me when you want to kill him," said the sniper. "But if I ever see your mug again apart from that..." the sniper pulled a gun out of the holster on his belt and pointed it at Robotnik's head. "I'll put a bullet in your forehead and enjoy the sight of the light leaving your eyes. Then I'll put another one in after that and leave you to rot, you sick bastard."

"Normally, I'd let you leave with the money," said Robotnik. "But right before you entered, I read an interesting news report about a tiny, two-tailed fox that's currently 'in stable condition' in the hospital."

"That's impossible," said the sniper. "I hit him in a very vital area, even if he did move."

"Move?" asked Robotnik.

"He moved at the last second, but I still hit him in a very fatal area. He should have died in a few minutes. Maybe a half-hour, if he was lucky." Or unlucky, the sniper thought to himself.

"Nope," said Robotnik, now frowning. "The report described him as 'lucky to be alive' and it said 'the bullet missed all the vital areas by mere millimeters'."

"Well, that's just dumb luck," said the sniper with a smile. He still had the gun trained on Robotnik.

"Yes," said Robotnik, still with a frown on his face. "Your dumb luck. You still owe me a dead fox. I wanted a grief-stricken hedgehog in a very fragile psychological state. Now I have a hedgehog who's hell-bent on revenge and is in the perfect mood to pull out all the stops. He'll come here whether he knows I did it or not. I need that fox dead. And you're gonna finish that job."

"No I'm not," said the sniper. "You just made me shoot an innocent child, that is not a safe place to stand if you happen to value your own life. Now you have two choices. You can let me walk out of here and make the hit on the hedgehog when you want, or you can try to keep me here and I'll kill you where you stand. I might survive, I might not, but I can assure you that I don't care. I would gladly die to take you down, you fat rat."

"No," said Robotnik casually with a sigh. He pulled a gun out of nowhere and shot it at the sniper. A dart embedded itself in the sniper's shoulder he looked at it, enraged, and got ready to shoot Robotnik.

"Ah, ah, ah!" yelled Robotnik as he pressed a button on his watch. "Blood pressure monitor in the watch is communicating constantly with the nanobots I just injected you with. I die, the robots rip your circulation system to shreds and you die a very painful death with me. You go finish the job, and we're good and you walk away unharmed and not in danger with a big bag of money. You get to choose."

"How do you know I won't come back and kill you?" asked the sniper. "How do I know you won't kill me after I'm done?"

"Well, frankly I trust you," said Robotnik sarcastically. "And I know you don't want to see me ever again, so you'll leave me alone. And I'm a man of my word and I don't want you dead unless I absolutely have to have you dead. I'll deactivate the bots when you're done with the job. Now it's my turn to ask you a question. You didn't want to kill that fox, but you still did it, even though you had just as great a shot on the hedgehog, and he's the reason you took the assassination job in the first place. Why did you still shoot the fox? Why didn't you just shoot the hedgehog?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't pay me if I killed the hedgehog instead and I need the money," said the sniper. "And I thought it was some sort of plan you had, I didn't know you were just being an asinine sadist. If I had, I would have just put a bullet in your head and walked away with the money."

"Well now, you can't," said Robotnik with a smile. Then his expression changed to a very serious one. "Now go kill the fox. And do it with something more subtle than a bullet to the head."

* * *

"Did you find out who shot Tails?" asked Amy as Sonic walked back into the hospital.

"Not a single clue," said Sonic angrily. "Whoever this is, he's good at disappearing. I don't even know if it's a guy, for that matter. All we have is the bullet and the rifle, and the cops couldn't tell us anything with them." He sat down, put his head in his hands, and sighed. Then he slid his hands halfway down his face and stared into space ahead of him, not looking at anything in particular.

"It's okay," said Amy as she sat down next to him. She put her arm around him reassuringly, to which Sonic, surprisingly, did not protest. "We'll find them somehow. Eventually."

"I don't get it," said Sonic in a perplexed voice. "Who would wanna kill Tails?"

"I don't know," said Amy. "I don't know."

"What if they're trying to get to me?" asked Sonic "What if Tails is only being targeted because he's important to me? I'd give my life for him and now someone might be trying to take his because they want to hurt me."

"It's a possibility, but he's safe now," said Amy. "He's safe. No one's gonna hurt him here."

"I don't know that," said Sonic with a worried voice. Amy could see the worry in his eyes. "I'm gonna talk to the cops and see if they can post guards at Tails's door. Who's to say that the assassin's not gonna come and try to finish the job?" Amy moved closer and hugged him. Then she let go of him when she saw the doctor walking toward them.

"How's Tails doing?" Sonic asked anxiously.

"He's waking up now," said the doctor. "Do you wanna come and see-" The doctor was cut off by the loud zooming sound of Sonic running at top speed down the hallway. Amy got up and ran after him.

Sonic screeched to a stop outside Tails's room. He walked in and saw the small fox kit lying in the bed, breathing softly and steadily, still sleeping. Amy walked in and stood next to Sonic. The doctor followed shortly.

"I thought you said he was awake, doc," said Sonic disappointedly.

"Sorry, I meant that we're about to wake him up," said the doctor. "I thought you'd wanna be here for it."

"Cool," said Sonic. The doctor patted Tails's shoulder gently. Tails stirred a little, but didn't wake up.

"Tails," said the doctor quietly. "Tails, wake up. You have some visitors here for you." Tails stirred again and groaned for a second. Then he slowly opened his eyes.

"Wha...?" Tails's voice trailed off as he squinted and put his arm up to block the excess light meeting his eyes, only to freeze suddenly, cringe, and scream. He snapped his arm back down. He had tried to use his injured shoulder, which didn't prove too pleasantly for him.

"Where am I?" asked Tails, still squinting hard. He slowly opened his eyes again as they adjusted to the light. He tried to block the light with his other arm. He saw Sonic, Amy, and the doctor standing over him.

"You're in the hospital Tails," said Sonic with a half-hearted smile. The memories immediately flooded Tails's head. The gunshot, the blood, the watch, Sonic and Amy.

"Someone tried to kill me," Tails said quietly.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "You're fine, though. You're gonna be fine."

"Who was it?" asked Tails.

"We don't know," said Amy sadly. "We think it may have been a professional, though. He was good. He was aiming directly at your heart. If you hadn't bent down to pick up your watch..."

"He got away?" asked Tails.

"He was really good at disappearing," said Sonic. "We don't have anything on him. We don't even know the actual gender or if they were Mobian or Human. The shot went off, police were there in thirty seconds, and he was gone."

"Why did he try to kill me?" asked Tails.

"We have no idea," said Amy. "We don't know why anyone would want to kill you."

"Okay," said Tails. "So, how bad's the damage?"

"Not bad," said the doctor. "You'll be in a sling for a few weeks and you might experience some aches and pains when you move your arm and shoulder sometimes. It'll gradually get better over time."

"Great," said Tails sarcastically.

"You'll be fine, buddy," said Sonic with a smile.

"Okay," said the doctor. "Tails still needs some rest for tonight. And he probably wants some food. You two need to leave for now." Amy nodded and gave Tails a hug and walked out. Sonic did the same and followed her out. Sonic walked down the hallway and stopped to talk to the officers investigating the assassination.

"Hey, do you think you could post some guards on Tails?" asked Sonic. "I'm not convinced that whoever tried to kill him won't come back and finish the job when he finds out that Tails survived."

"Sure," said the officer. "I'll put a couple agents on the room. Don't worry."

"Okay, thanks," said Sonic, feeling slightly relieved. But he wasn't totally at ease. He still felt something poking him in his mind. A fear for Tails. A fear that he still wasn't safe if they posted a small army on his room. Sonic found Amy and sat down next to her.

"Amy, I need a favor," said Sonic.

"Sure, I'll take you to dinner," said Amy with a smile.

"Not that kinda favor," said Sonic, somewhat annoyed. "I need you to stay with Tails tonight. At least until I get back."

"Where are you going?" asked Amy.

"To go get better protection," said Sonic. "I'm gonna go find Knuckles."

"You don't trust the cops to do that?" asked Amy in an eerily similar way to how Sonic had asked her just a few hours ago.

"Not in the least," said Sonic quietly. "I want you to get a list of nurses that will be looking after Tails and I want you to stay in his room. Anyone that isn't the doctor or the nurses on the list I want you to hammer first and question later."

"Sounds like a good plan," said Amy thoughtfully. "Except I don't know how to get a list of nurses who are taking care of Tails."

"Make something up," said Sonic. "Tell them you need it for the investigation. That might do it."

"When will you be back?" asked Amy.

"In a couple hours," said Sonic.

"Okay," said Amy.

"What time is it?" asked Sonic.

"Nine-thirty, why?" asked Amy.

"Just wondering," said Sonic as he turned around and ran out the door.

* * *

The sniper walked in the hospital. He looked at the clock. Midnight. He walked to the reception and asked them where he could find the fox that had been shot earlier that day. The receptionist gave him the room number and floor, unaware that she was giving it to the shooter himself. He thanked her and walked to the elevator. He pushed the button and looked himself over in the reflective elevator doors.

He was wearing the attire of a doctor. He had on a set of blue-green scrubs and a white lab coat. His hair was slicked back like always. He had an ID badge pinned to the coat that looked like a doctor's ID, except it had his picture on it and it was under a fake name.

The elevator opened and he walked in. It was absolutely empty. He pressed the button for the floor that his victim was on. The sound of the elevator rising seemed deafening in the empty silence that surrounded him. He waited for about a minute before the doors opened onto his destination floor. He walked out and down the hall to the fox's room. He saw the guards posted outside the door. He knew they wouldn't pose a problem. That's why he had a disguise on.

"Who are you?" asked the guard on the right, holding his arm in front of the door.

"I'm Dr. Jason Smith," said the sniper as he held up his ID badge. "I specialize in ballistic wounds, much like the kind that the patient in this room has suffered. I was called here by the hospital chairman. The hospital wants to make sure that the city-hero in there gets the best treatment." The guard looked at the ID badge, then up at the sniper, then the ID again.

"Very well," sighed the guard. He handed the badge back and the sniper smiled at him as he walked into the room. He saw the light golden-orange fur of the fox. He looked around and saw a red echidna fast asleep in a chair next to the pink hedgehog he had seen at the cafe, who was also asleep. He turned toward the window of the room and saw the blue hedgehog sleeping in a chair placed under the window. He looked at the fox in the bed. He was tucked under the blankets, sleeping soundly. The sniper felt a twinge of guilt as he looked at the innocent victim who would suffer a heart attack in his sleep, possibly unaware that anything happened until he opened his eyes in the afterlife. But the sniper knew there was also a possibility that the painful heart attack would wake him up for the last few seconds or minutes that remained of his life.

Guilt, the sniper thought to himself with a quiet, bewildered chuckle. I certainly haven't felt that in a while. The sniper took some plastic gloves out of a box by the bed and reached into his pocket for the fatal drugs that were meant for the fox. He took out the syringe and filled it with twenty-five cc's of the solution.

* * *

**Please review! **


	3. Explosion

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hoping to do a series of updates this weekend, but after that, i may not update for a while. so enjoy this weekend, because after that, there may not be another update for about two weeks.  
**

* * *

Sonic saw Tails on the ground at the cafe. He was bleeding profusely through the center of his chest. Sonic could actually see the life leaving Tails, the light in his eyes starting to dim rapidly. He was hugging Tails' body to his chest. Then his vision flashed and he was sitting in a church, wearing a black suit and a black tie. He looked around and saw that everyone was wearing black. Some people were crying. He looked to the front of the room and saw a casket that was half opened. Then he looked at what was inside it and he was filled with horror. He saw Tails lying in the casket, lifeless. Then his vision flashed again and he was at a cemetery. He was in front of a newly dug grave. He looked at the fresh tombstone and read the vivid inscription. It read "Miles "Tails" Prower". Sonic looked away after that. He didn't want to read the rest. Then his vision flashed again and he saw nothing but black. He felt that his eyes were closed. He was sitting in a chair. He heard a door open and close. He opened his eyes and saw a man with black, slicked back hair walk in. His white coat was trailing behind him. Then Sonic saw something that nearly made him gasp, but he refrained from doing so for his best friend's safety. He saw, under the coat, a black pistol in a holster strapped to the man's belt. Sonic quickly put his chin on his chest and feigned the sleep he had just been in as the man turned around to look at him.

* * *

The sniper took the needle out of the bottle and directed it toward the IV bag that was feeding into the fox. Then he felt someone behind him tear the pistol out of the holster on his belt. He wheeled around, elbow leading the way, trying to land a hit on the unfortunate pickpocket that had tried to steal his gun, only to find no one there. Then he felt a hard, metallic impact on the back of his head and he fell forward.

* * *

"Wow, those sleeping meds are really workin'," said Sonic as he looked to see if Tails had woken up because of the noise of the gun smacking the sniper's head. Tails was still fast asleep, but Knuckles was on his feet, ready to fight, in a second and Amy was half-awake and very confused.

"Knuckles, lock the door," said Sonic, not taking his eyes off the sniper on the floor.

"Where'd you get a gun?" asked Knuckles.

"The holster on his belt," said Sonic, pointing to the sniper. Knuckles walked over and locked the door. The sniper looked up at Sonic, who had the gun trained on him.

"Now you're gonna tell me why you tried to kill my friend," said Sonic with a sadistic smile.

"Robotnik made me," said the sniper calmly. "He injected me with nanobots and threatened to make them kill me if I didn't come and kill the fox."

"Okay, now tell me why you tried to snipe him," said Sonic, clicking the safety on the gun to the "off" position.

"What makes you think I did that?" asked the sniper. Sonic saw him start moving his hand slowly for the syringe that lay on the ground. "Knuckles, what's he reaching for?" Knuckles punched the sniper in the side and reached over to pick up the syringe and bottle on the floor. He handed it to Sonic.

"Follow-up question, Knucklehead," said Sonic with another smile as he read the label on the bottle. Knuckles frowned at his unwanted nickname. "What's potassium chloride?"

"Poison," said Knuckles shortly. "Causes heart attacks."

"Okay, now I'm gonna shoot you in the head," Sonic told the sniper. He braced himself for the kickback of the gun and was about to pull the trigger when the sniper stopped him.

"Okay, okay!" said the sniper quickly. "I was the sniper! I didn't want to do it! He made me do it and I needed the money. I didn't want to, I had to. It's what I do. And I've hated myself since. I don't like killing kids. I needed the money though."

"Why does Robotnik want you to kill Tails?" asked Sonic.

"Because he's a freaking, sadistic, rat bastard," said the sniper with a disgusted face. "He's playing with you. He wants to kill you, but he wants to torture you first. Therefore, best-friend-fox equals number-one-target. Simple assassination math. I wanted to put a bullet in his head when he told me."

"Why didn't you?" asked Sonic. "You could have saved us a lot of trouble. And yourself a lot, for that matter."

"Why?" asked the sniper. Sonic was about to answer when he was cut off by a voice behind him.

"What's going on?" Tails' groggy voice chimed in.

"Found the sniper," said Knuckles. "He tried to sneak in here and poison you."

"Where'd you get a gun, Sonic?" asked Tails, confused.

"His holster," said Sonic with a smile again. Then the smile turned to the frown. "So Robotnik wants to play with his food before he eats it. So he targets Tails before he goes for me?"

"Yeah," said the sniper.

"Told you," said Sonic to Amy, deepening his frown.

"You said that I could have saved myself some trouble by killing Robotnik," said the sniper. "How?"

"You're gonna help me kill that egg-shaped sonofabitch," said Sonic.

"Now, that I can do with a smile on my face," said the sniper as he stood himself up.

"Good," said Sonic. He took the magazine out of the gun, discarded the bullet in the chamber, walked over to the window, opened it, and chucked the gun out onto the deserted street below.

"You know, I kinda needed that," said the sniper.

"I don't trust you," said Sonic. "Yet."

"Okay, there's one more thing we need to do before we go after Robotnik," said the sniper.

"What?" asked Sonic.

"Get these nanobots out of me so I can get out from under Robotnik's thumb," said the sniper.

"That's my territory," said Tails with a smile. He was sitting up now, left arm in a sling that he had received an hour ago. "I need a blood sample."

"Okay," said the sniper reluctantly.

"And a microscope," said Tails.

"Knuckles, go get a microscope," said Sonic.

"You do it," said Knuckles. "I'm getting the blood." He held up one of his spiked fists. The sniper widened his eyes in slight fear.

"I can get the microscope and the blood sample," said the sniper. "I am the doctor in here, after all." He showed them the fake ID.

"Wow, they really need to get better security here," said Knuckles with his head leaning forward on his palm.

"And a metal detector," added Sonic pointing to the empty holster. The sniper unlocked and opened the door.

"Hey, I need a microscope and something to take a blood sample with," said the sniper to one of the guards. "And make sure that this is all kept under wraps and that we're not disturbed for the next half-hour or so." The guard nodded and walked down the hall.

"So what are we gonna do with a microscope?" asked the sniper.

"Know your enemy," said Tails. "Knuckles, hand me that tray of tools." Knuckles handed over the tray that was sitting on a shelf by the sink to Tails' right. Tails set it down on his lap and started inspecting the tools one by one. After he inspected and rejected five or so tools, he finally chose one.

"Okay, now who brought my backpack?" asked Tails. Amy handed the bag to him and he searched through it, rather awkwardly with the use of only one arm, and found a small, blue, plastic box. He set his backpack down on the floor and opened up the box. He pulled a couple more tools out and then grabbed the tray that he had eaten from and set all the tools down on the tray.

"Okay, I need to take a look at the nanobots to know if I can disable them with an electromagnetic pulse," said Tails. "Then I may need access to an MRI machine."

"Then we use the MRI to create an electromagnetic pulse to disarm the nanobots," finished the sniper.

"Exactly," said Tails. "Now we just wait for the microscope."

"Okay," said the sniper.

"So what's your name?" Sonic asked the sniper. The sniper didn't answer. He just stared at the wall ahead of him. "'Cause I know it's not 'Jason Smith'."

"That's my business," said the sniper quietly with a cold voice. He sounded almost sad when he said it. Sonic decided to leave it alone. They waited in silence for about three minutes before there was a knock on the door. The sniper opened it and the guard on the outside handed him a microscope and an empty, sterile syringe. The sniper handed both to Tails, who handed the syringe to Sonic, who stabbed the needle into the sniper's arm and drew a couple cc's of blood.

"AUGH!" yelped the sniper. "Could you at least warn a guy?" Knuckles bandaged the small prick that the syringe had made and Sonic handed the syringe to Tails. Tails took it and put some blood on a slide and looked at it under the microscope. He took one of the tools that he had on the tray next to the microscope. He started poking at the blood on the slide with the tool. As he continued working, everyone started to ignore him and go about doing their own things. Knuckles sat down and closed his eyes, resting his head on the wall. Sonic started pacing quickly across the width of the room. Amy leaned against the wall, tapping her foot. The sniper stared at the wall again, completely motionless, barely breathing.

After about ten minutes, Tails set the tray of tools and the microscope on the counter by the bed and spoke to the sniper.

"Okay, you need to get me access to an MRI machine," Tails said to him. "And we need this to be private." The sniper walked to the door and opened it.

"Hey, I need you to get me access to an MRI," the sniper told the guard. "It's imperative that this patient get one immediately. And keep this under wraps also. No one knows. Top secret."

"Got it," said the guard. He walked down the hallway and disappeared around the corner. The sniper went back into the room.

"Okay, now get me that wheelchair," said Tails as he got out of bed, wheeling the IV behind him with his good arm. Sonic opened the wheelchair and Tails sat in it. Knuckles took the IV from Tails and stood behind him, waiting for the guard to come back. They waited for about a minute before there was a knock on the door and the sniper opened it. The guard told him that there was an MRI waiting for them on the third floor.

The sniper took the position behind Tails pushing the chair. Knuckles kept the IV behind Tails, while Sonic and Amy followed close behind them. They boarded the elevator and pushed the button for the third floor. The doors opened about thirty seconds later and they wheeled Tails down the hallway to the door that was labeled "MRI".

They wheeled Tails into the room with the machine and the sniper walked around the chair to face him.

"What now?" asked the sniper.

"Take off all your clothes," said Tails as he stood up from the chair. "Amy, make sure we're not disturbed." Amy walked out the door and stood outside in the hall, making sure no one entered the MRI room. Inside, the sniper was stripping off his boxer shorts and handing them to Sonic, who took them rather reluctantly. The sniper stood in the middle of the room, shivering slightly from the cold, now stark naked and looking at Tails.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Get on the bed," said Tails, pointing to the metal bed inside the chamber of the machine. The sniper walked over and got on the bed.

"This thing is freezing," said the sniper. "Why did I have to take off my clothes?"

"Because you tried to shoot me through the heart," said Tails coolly as he walked into the control room. He pressed a couple buttons and cut the sniper off as he started to protest to the fox's vengeance. "Now don't move and stop talking." The bed started to sink into the machine and Tails pressed a few more buttons on the control panel. He looked frustrated with the use of only one arm.

"What are you gonna do, exactly?" asked Sonic.

"I'm gonna send an electromagnetic pulse into the chamber to disable the nanobots," said Tails. "It won't be too strong. I'm trying not to kill him. The strength I'm using will probably just give him a slight headache." Sonic nodded in response. Tails worked the controls for a couple more seconds, pressing buttons, flipping switches, and twisting dials, with his one hand, leaving the other hanging limply in the sling. After about a minute of working, the chamber started to glow. Then it flashed and went dark again. Tails pushed a button and the bed in the chamber slid out. The sniper got off the bed and walked over to Tails and Sonic, who were waiting in the control room.

"Congratulations," said Tails sarcastically. "You are now nanobot free."

"Can I have my clothes back now?" the sniper asked. Sonic tossed him the clothes and he stepped back to put them on again.

"So, what next?" asked Sonic after the sniper was finished.

"Well, I have to stay the night here," said Tails as he got back in the wheelchair.

"I think I should go home and get some rest," said Knuckles. "A plastic chair in a hospital doesn't seem very conducive to a good night's sleep." He walked out the door and left them with a wave.

"I'll stay here with you, Tails," said Sonic.

"Then what's gonna happen with him?" asked Tails as he pointed to the sniper.

"He'll stay here," said Sonic.

"Where?" asked Tails. "He's impersonating a doctor. He has to leave."

"Well, I don't trust him on his own," said Sonic.

"So go home," said Tails. "I'm fine here, Sonic. Just take me back and go home."

"No, I'm staying here with you," said Sonic. "They let him in because he had a decent fake ID. Who knows how many more stupid mistakes the security here is gonna make."

"I'll be fine, Sonic," argued Tails.

"I'll stay with him here," chimed in Amy's voice from the door. She had just walked in. "I'll stay here with him. You take him home." She pointed to the sniper.

"Good idea," said the sniper in agreement. They all looked at him in surprise. "I can't stay here. I'll blow my cover and I won't be able to help take down Robotnik. I need to leave, so if you guys want to keep an eye on me, I'm gonna have to stay at someone's place tonight." They all sat in silence for a while, looking at Sonic as he thought the idea over.

"Fine," said Sonic reluctantly.

"Good," said Tails. "Now you need to wheel me outta here and take me back to the room." The sniper obeyed and grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. Amy grabbed the IV behind Tails and they all walked out of the MRI room and back to Tails' hospital room. After they got Tails back into the room and in bed, Sonic led the sniper out of the room and Amy stayed behind.

Sonic led the sniper to an apartment building a couple blocks away from the hospital. Sonic always kept an apartment in the city rented for himself in case of an emergency.

* * *

Knuckles was walking down the street outside the hospital, wondering if he should find a place to stay because he didn't feel like going all the way back to Angel Island right now. He walked a little further down the street and ducked into a decent hotel. He had a little cash on him, enough to rent a room for the night. He walked to the front desk and checked in. The receptionist gave him a room key and told him the room number. He walked to the elevator and hit the button for his floor. He waited for a minute for the doors to slide open. He walked down the hallway and found his room. He opened it and looked around. There was a small kitchen with a fridge, stove and microwave oven, a king size bed, and a decent TV. Knuckles walked over to the bed and dropped onto it, kicking his shoes off before he did so. He fell asleep almost instantly.

* * *

Knuckles was awoken from his dreamless sleep by the ringing of the hotel phone. He looked up at it groggily. He crawled to the other side of the bed and picked it up.

"H- Hel..." Knuckles began to yawn. "...Lo?"

"Is this Mr. Knuckles?" asked a man on the other end of the line.

"Yes, why?" asked Knuckles, suddenly alert, wondering if this was about Tails.

"I'm just giving you the wake-up call you asked for," said the man.

"I didn't ask for any wake-up call," said Knuckles in an annoyed voice.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Knuckles," said the man. "Please accept my apologies on behalf of the hotel. But we have a note written write here that says 'Knuckles; Room 221; Wake-up call: 7:30am'."

"Well, I didn't call for it," said Knuckles.

"I'm sorry, sir, it won't happen again," said the man. "Goodbye." The man hung up. Knuckles wondered who called for his wake-up call. He decided he'd go down to the front desk and investigate the matter later. He looked at the sign that the hotel put on the night stand to advertise their free breakfast bar. He decided that he could go for a good breakfast and got up. He went over the bathroom and turned on the light inside it. He closed the door, locked it, and turned the shower on. He took off his gloves and stepped in the shower. After he was done, he dried off, put his gloves back on, walked out into the room, put his shoes on, and left to go get breakfast.

* * *

The fox leaned against the wall in the hallway, pretending to talk on his phone as he watched the red echidna walk down the hallway to the elevator. After the echidna turned the corner, the fox with dark orange fur took a leather pouch out of the pocket of his jacket. He opened it and took out a plastic card that was connected to a small black box that had a screen on it next to a couple buttons. He slid the card into the slot on the echidna's door and pressed a button. The box beeped a couple times. Then the door beeped and clicked. The fox opened the door and walked inside. He pulled out the phone he was pretending to talk into and pressed a couple buttons. He took out a wallet and a roll of double-sided tape. He stuck some tape on the wallet and stuck the wallet to the door jam. Then he stuck some tape to the back of the cell phone, opened the door, stuck the phone to the spot on the door that would be next to the wallet on the jam, pressed one more button on the phone, and left. He walked down the hallway and didn't look back. He just stared forward with a smile on his face.

* * *

Knuckles walked out of the elevator and down the hallway. He was holding a tray with a plastic container of cereal, a small carton of milk, a plate of bacon, and a plate of pancakes. He walked to the door, slipped in the key card, and opened the door. Immediately, an explosion erupted from the door, blasting Knuckles into the wall, spewing milk everywhere, and splattering the pancakes and bacon all over the hallway. Knuckles fell to the floor and lay there motionless, bleeding from numerous places on his body.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you enjoyed the third chapter. Please review! I really want to know your opinions. Both flames and praises alike are accepted. If something's wrong, tell me. If there was something you really liked, tell me that, too. **


	4. Emotion

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Fourth Chapter's up! one more coming up tomorrow, but after that, I don't know when there will be a new one up. I'm having a little bit of writer's block with chapter 6 and I've got a lot going on with school. So, now, read and enjoy.**

**Ps. Not my best chapter. Just a forewarning. But tomorrow's may be my best yet.  
**

* * *

Sonic was awoken by the sound of his phone ringing. He looked up at it and grabbed for it. He couldn't reach it. He crawled across the bed and grabbed it off the hook. He looked at the caller ID. It read "G.U.N." in black letters on the screen.

Oh no, Sonic thought to himself. What are they calling me for? Maybe they found a lead on who tried to kill Tails or maybe Tails...

He didn't finish the thought. Instead he answered the phone and was greeted by a familiar voice.

"Hello?" asked Sonic.

"Hello," said the voice of Shadow The Hedgehog. "Sonic-"

"Did you find anything about Tails' assassin?" asked Sonic with a slightly worried voice.

"No," said Shadow. "We found something else, though."

"What?" asked Sonic.

"Knuckles was staying in a hotel nearby the hospital," started Shadow. "He went down to the lobby for some breakfast. While he was gone, someone booby-trapped the door to the room. He opened it and a bomb went off..."

"Is he okay?" asked Sonic, a little more worried now.

"He's been taken to the hospital," said Shadow. "The doctor doesn't know if he's gonna make it or not." A long silence followed after this that seemed, to Sonic, to go on for at least an hour, but was really only a couple seconds.

"Shadow, I have to go," said Sonic quietly. "Oh, did you even hear what happened to Tails?"

"Yeah, sounds bad," said Shadow. "I'm trying to work out something for that, too. I'll find the guy who tried to kill him."

"'Kay, gotta go, bye," said Sonic. He pressed a button on the phone to hang it up and dropped it on the bed. He ran out of the room, leaving sneakers and gloves behind. He ran into the hallway that led to the living room of the apartment. He saw the sniper sleeping on the couch. He lost it and aimed a kick at the sniper's stomach. The sniper woke up immediately and doubled over, gasping for breath.

"What the hell?" he gasped at Sonic.

"Did you try and kill Knuckles?" asked Sonic, grabbing the sniper by his neck. He would have grabbed him by the shirt, but the man wasn't wearing a shirt.

"What... Are you... Talking... About...?" the sniper gasped out as Sonic's fingers closed around his throat.

"Someone tried to kill my friend," growled Sonic angrily. "And you're the only guy I know who does that for a living and seems to have something to gain from it. What? Did Robotnik call and pay you off for another one of my friends?"

"I didn't... Try to kill... Anybody...," the sniper gasped through gritted teeth. Finally, he got tired of being choked and aimed a punch at Sonic's side, causing the hedgehog to let go of him. "I didn't try to kill anyone. How'd they die?"

"They didn't," said Sonic.

"Well, then why are you blaming me?" asked the sniper.

"Because you already tried to kill Tails!" said Sonic.

"I don't fail like that twice in the same twenty four hours," said the sniper.

"Sorry if I don't consider your cockiness as evidence of your innocence," said Sonic coolly.

"Okay, what happened?" asked the sniper.

"Someone booby-trapped his front door," said Sonic. "They blew him up."

"Not me," said the sniper. "I don't use bombs. Too noisy and messy. I like to stick to the shadows, keep myself hidden. Sniping and poisoning are what I do."

"I still don't believe you," said Sonic. "I gotta go call Tails and tell him. I'll get back to you later. Don't go anywhere." Sonic went into the kitchen and grabbed the handset off its cradle on the counter. He dialed the number for the hospital and asked to speak to Tails. They redirected his call and Tails picked up on the line.

"Hello?" Sonic heard over the phone.

"Did you hear about Knuckles?" asked Sonic.

"No, why?" asked Tails.

"Someone tried to blow him up," said Sonic.

"What? Is he okay?" asked Tails worriedly.

"I don't know," said Sonic. "Shadow's investigating it."

"Have you talked to our friend about this?" asked Tails.

"Denied everything," said Sonic shortly. "Claims he doesn't like to work with bombs."

"Claimed he didn't like to kill kids either, but look at me," said Tails skeptically.

"Yeah, but this is different," said Sonic thoughtfully. "I can see why he wouldn't use a bomb. He had the potassium chloride stuff he could have used to give Knuckles a heart attack. It would have been so much quieter and easier. This wasn't him. He's quiet, careful, and indifferent. I think he only does this for the money. This was loud, messy, and way more complicated than it had to be. Whoever did this was probably enjoying it. This wasn't the guy who tried to kill you."

"So you're taking his side?" asked Tails.

"No, but if he didn't do it, I don't want G.U.N. wasting their time pursuing that line of investigation," said Sonic. "I want them finding the guy that tried to kill Knuckles, who's not the guy who tried to kill you."

"Fine," said Tails. "I still think he did it."

"Well, he didn't," said Sonic.

"Can you prove it?" asked Tails challengingly.

"No," said Sonic.

"Then I think he did it," said Tails.

"Well, you're probably gonna be able to visit Knuckles soon," said Sonic.

"Yeah," said Tails. "How is he?"

"I don't know," said Sonic. "Shadow just said that the doctors didn't know of was gonna make it or not, but-" he was cut off by a beeping in his ear. He looked at the phone. "Hey, I got another call, Tails. Stay on the line." Sonic looked at the screen and pressed the "swap call" button. But Sonic was confused when the caller ID didn't change. It still said "Hospital" on it.

"Hey, Tails, I guess whoever it was hung up," said Sonic, putting the phone to his ear again.

"Uh, is this a Mr. Sonic The Hedgehog?" asked a voice that definitely wasn't Tails'.

"Yeah, why?" asked Sonic in a confused voice.

"We're very sorry to tell you this, but your friend, Knuckles, just passed away," said the voice. "He was killed in an ex-"

"-Plosian," finished Sonic, voice quavering slightly. "I know. Thank you."

"I'm very sorry," said the voice. Sonic hung up without another word. He pressed a button on the phone and put it back to his ear.

"Tails?" asked Sonic softly, still recovering from the shock. "You still there?"

"Yeah," said Tails suspiciously. "Something wrong? Oh God! Is the sniper holding you hostage?"

"No, it's worse," said Sonic softly. "Knuckles... Knuckles is..." He couldn't finish the sentence. The line was quiet. Everything was silent. They sat there for two minutes straight in silence, but it felt like days to Sonic. He wondered if Tails felt the same way in the silence. Then the long silence was broken by the same beep in Sonic's ear from a few minutes before.

"Tails..." said Sonic."I gotta go. I'll come over in a few minutes." Tails didn't reply. Sonic pressed a button on the phone and put it back to his ear.

"Hello?" asked Sonic softly.

"I assume you heard," said Shadow over the phone.

"Yeah," said Sonic softly.

"I found something," said Shadow.

"What?" asked Sonic.

"Fox fur," said Shadow. "Giant clump of it, too. Whoever this guy was, he wasn't too careful."

"It could be Tails' fur," said Sonic.

"Nope, too dark in color," said Shadow. "And it's way longer than anything Tails has on his body."

"So, was it a giant singular clump?" asked Sonic. "Like there's a fox walking around with a giant bald spot on his back?"

"No," said Shadow. "It's definitely from his tail and it's not one singular clump, it was all the fur they could collect from the scene."

"Well, call if you find anything else," said Sonic. "What kinda bomb was it?"

"It was a small C4 block in a dummy cell phone," said Shadow. "It was a magnetic detonation. There was a wallet with a giant magnet in it. Strap the wallet to the door jam, the cell-phone-bomb next to it on the door, open the door, activate the bomb, door closes and the magnet keeps the bomb from detonating. Next time the door is opened, magnetic connection gets disconnected, bomb goes off."

"Okay," said Sonic. "Well, like I said. Call me of you find anything else."

"Okay," said Shadow. "I gotta go look over Knuckles' body. Bye." Sonic hung up the phone and put it back on its cradle. He walked into the living room and found the sniper standing in the middle of the room, hands folded and hanging in front of him, eyes staring out the window at nothing in particular. Sonic left him alone and went back to his room. He put his shoes and gloves on and headed for the door. He had his hand on the handle when the sniper stopped him.

"You're going to leave me alone?" asked the sniper.

"Special circumstances," said Sonic. "And you and I both know that if you try to run or do something I don't want, there's nowhere on this planet that I can't find you."

"Fine, but I may go out and get a coffee," said the sniper.

"Fine," said Sonic. "I'll be back in a while." Sonic opened the door and walked out. He disappeared in a blur of blue as he started running. He ran for about a minute before he was in the hospital walking into Tails' room. Sonic put his hand on the handle, but stopped himself from opening it. Then he decided against seeing Tails right now and instead ran back down to the reception and asked where he could find Knuckles. The receptionist told him where and Sonic was there in less than a second. He walked into the room and saw Shadow examining something that was lying under a white sheet. Sonic walked over to him and saw that Knuckles head and torso were uncovered by the sheet. He was soaked with his blood in certain places and he had a lot of singed fur all over his body. Sonic looked at Shadow.

"Find anything?" he asked.

"Nope," said Shadow. "Nothing but the fur." Shadow handed the fur to Sonic. It was contained in an evidence bag. Sonic inspected it carefully.

"Nope, definitely not Tails' fur," said Sonic. "Way too dark."

"Yeah, I said that," said Shadow.

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic.

"You tell him yet?" asked Shadow.

"Tails? Yeah, you sort of interrupted me telling him," said Sonic.

"Sorry," said Shadow indifferently.

"It's fine," said Sonic. "That conversation was pretty much at an end."

"I've got to take a couple samples," said Shadow as he pulled out an empty syringe.

"That's my cue to leave," said Sonic, walking away. Sonic paused in the doorway and looked back. "When do you think the funeral will be?"

"I have no idea," said Shadow. "I'm not a mortician. I'm an investigator."

"Okay," said Sonic. He turned around and walked away, saying his final goodbye to his echidna friend silently in his head. He walked the rest of the way to Tails' room, for once not feeling like running. He felt like someone had dropped a twenty pound weight into his stomach. He wasn't plagued by just grief, but a whole plethora of emotions. He felt grief for Knuckles, fear for Tails and his other friends that might be being targeted by Robotnik's need for revenge on the blue hedgehog. He felt guilty because he knew that he was the reason his little brother was sitting in a hospital bed with a sling around his shoulder and the use of only one arm and that he was the reason that one of his best friends was now lying on a metal table, fur singed and caked with his spilt blood, covered by a white sheet. He felt nothing but pure hatred and anger for Robotnik, he felt annoyed by the fact that no one had found anything yet and that the only reason they had found the sniper was because Sonic had caught him in the act of trying to kill Tails again. Sonic walked to Tails room and walked in to find him staring blankly at the ceiling. His face seemed to convey amazement and terror at the same time.

"Tails?" said Sonic. "You okay?"

"He's really gone," said Tails softly. "Did you see him?"

"Yeah," said Sonic equally as softly.

"Is it bad?" asked Tails.

"It looks like it was quick," said Sonic, looking down at Tails' hand. "But I'm not really an expert on that kind of stuff. So where's Amy?"

"She went home around six in the morning," said Tails.

"Okay," said Sonic quietly.

"So what's gonna happen now?" asked Tails.

"Well, they'll probably clean him up," said Sonic. "Clean the blood, dress him up, and get him a casket."

"Who's gonna do that?" asked Tails. "I mean, choose the clothes and the casket."

"I guess I have to," said Sonic with a sigh.

"Then what after that?" asked Tails.

"I'm gonna go kill Robotnik," said Sonic. He looked Tails in the eye to tell him this, trying to communicate his hatred and anger fully to Tails. "I'm gonna kill him before he tries to kill another one of my friends again. And I'm gonna do it before I do anything with Knuckles' funeral."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry to all the Knuckles fans out there. Anyway, please please please review. Praises and flames both accepted. Granted flames a little less enthusiastically, but still. So until the next chapter.**


	5. The Hunt

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I know I said that I would post this tomorrow, but I was too excited for this chapter to wait. This one, in my opinion, is the best one yet. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!  
**

* * *

Sonic stared at the closed, red eyelids of his friend. He just stared, not even thinking, just totally gone. He was completely motionless, until he heard someone walk in. He looked at the door and saw a man in jeans, a black T-shirt, a black leather jacket, and a shaved head and face. Sonic thought he looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on where he'd seen him. Then the man spoke and Sonic knew exactly who it was.

"Wow," the sniper said quietly to himself as he looked over the uncovered half of Knuckles' body.

"What happened to you?" Sonic asked. "You try to fight an electric razor? Or a barber?"

"I felt it was a necessary change to make if I wanted to get back in here," said the sniper. "I think I may already know who did this."

"How?" asked Sonic, looking up at him.

"The fur," said the sniper. He held up the bag with the ball of dark orange fur in it.

"You can tell who's fur it is?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"Well it narrows down the suspect list for me," said the sniper. "Then there's the cell-phone-wallet combination. That narrows it down further."

"So you know who did it?" asked Sonic.

"I think so," said the sniper. He started walking to the door. "I gotta go make a call."

* * *

"They said that they're gonna release you today," Sonic told Tails.

"Good," said Tails with a slightly relieved voice. "I've been waiting to get out of here."

"They also said that you have to keep the arm and shoulder movement to a minimum while you're in that sling," said Sonic.

"That's gonna get annoying," said Tails. "You find out anything about Knuckles' killer?"

"Our friend thinks he knows who did it," said Sonic.

"And?" asked Tails.

"I don't know," said Sonic. "He said he needed to make a call."

"Probably wants to tell him that we're all his targets and he'll kill anyone who comes to take his kills, or something like that," said Tails with a half-hearted smile.

"I don't think so," said Sonic. "I think he feels a little guilty about what happened with you."

"Guilty?" said Tails disbelievingly. "An assassin that feels guilty?"

"I really think that he does," said Sonic. "He said he doesn't like killing kids."

"He tried to kill me twice," said Tails.

"Only 'cause his life was on the line," said Sonic.

"The second time," argued Tails.

"He said he needed the money," said Sonic.

"So you're defending him now," said Tails with angry disbelief.

"No!" said Sonic defensively. "I'm just saying that, for now, we need to push that aside and deal with it later so that we can take down Robotnik before he tries to kill another one of my friends."

"Fine," said Tails. "But I still don't trust him."

"And you have every right not to," said Sonic. "And I can understand that you're a little short when it comes to blind faith right now, but trusting in me isn't blind faith. Just trust me. And if I'm wrong, you can put the bullet in his head yourself."

"If you're wrong, it'll probably mean another one of our friends, Sonic," said Tails softly.

"I won't let that happen again," Sonic whispered to Tails.

"Okay," said Tails quietly.

"Now, let's get you out of here," said Sonic. "I'll get the doctor to clear you to leave." Sonic walked out the door.

* * *

"Griffon," the sniper was speaking on the phone.

"Phoenix," said the man on the other end of the phone. He had a British accent and his voice had a naturally malicious tone to it. "How are you?"

"You do any jobs recently?" asked the sniper.

"Yeah," said Griffon with a slightly delighted tone. "Just got finished with one this morning. A red echidna named Knuckles. I think it was the same Knuckles that's the Angel Island guardian. Can you believe that I took him down?" He let out a small chuckle. "I blew him up. You remember my signature wallet-phone bomb. I called in a wake-up call for him, on the chance that he'd leave the room for some reason. I just needed one minute. I had three extra backup plans if the wake-up call didn't work, but who knew he'd be so easy? He gave me like ten minutes when I only needed one. I walked away clean. He walked away as a ghost." The sniper heard the excitement in his voice. It was almost ecstatic.

"Yeah, who hired you?" asked the sniper.

"Why? You want a job too?" asked Griffon with a laugh.

"No, I just wanna know who hired you," said the sniper.

"It was that mad scientist, Robotnik," said Griffon.

"Okay then," said the sniper. "I might call you later. Don't say anything to the scientist yet, though. I wanna check him out."

"Sure thing, Phoenix," said Griffon. The sniper hung up and walked down the hallway, heading towards Tails' room.

* * *

"Who are you?" asked the guard at Tails door.

Not again, the sniper thought to himself with a silent chuckle.

"I'm a friend of the patient," said the sniper.

"Name?" asked the guard.

"My name's probably not on the list," said the sniper. He knocked on the door. "Sonic! Tell them to let me in." The door opened, revealing Sonic holding the knob, Tails in the hospital bed, and the wolf doctor taking Tails' blood pressure.

"No!" said Tails shortly.

"Yes," said Sonic.

"But he said 'no'," said the guard.

"They're not the best of friends," said Sonic.

"No, we're not," said Tails.

"Let him in," said Sonic. "He's not a threat." The guards let him come in and he walked over to the window and leaned against the wall while the doctor checked on Tails. After a few minutes of evaluation, the doctor said that Tails could go home and that he had to go get a wheelchair for him. The doctor left the three alone.

"Tails, do you think you could track a phone call?" asked the sniper.

"Don't call me 'Tails'," said Tails shortly. Sonic rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What should I call you?" asked the sniper. Tails thought for a moment before he replied.

"Miles," he said. "And yes, I can trace a phone call."

"Good," said the sniper.

"Why?" asked Sonic.

"I know who killed your friend," said the sniper.

"The 'friend' has a name," Tails said maliciously. The sniper was about to retort when Sonic cut him off.

"He would have taken a shot at you if you had used his name," said Sonic. "He's just taking shots at you. Ignore it. So who killed Knuckles?"

"I don't know his name," said the sniper.

"That's helpful," said Tails sarcastically.

"I worked on a job with him a while back," said the sniper. "It was a multi-target assassination. We were all hired by one man to kill five people. We didn't exchange names. We all went by code names. I was 'Phoenix', he was 'Griffon'."

"Mythical creatures," said Sonic.

"Yeah, the guy we worked for may have been clinically insane," said the sniper. "So I called him and asked who hired him. It was Robotnik. So I told him I'd call him later. That's when you can trace the phone call, Miles."

"And then what?" asked Tails.

"Me and Sonic go find him," said the sniper.

"Fine," said Tails. Then the doctor came in and they all fell silent. He put a wheelchair down at the side of the bed. Then he disconnected the IV from Tails' arm and helped him down from the bed and into the chair. Sonic wheeled him down to the street, followed by the sniper and they all got in the car that the sniper had "borrowed" the day before when he was disguised as a doctor.

"Wow, you in a car," said Tails with a smile. "That's a sign of the apocalypse, right?"

"I didn't want to leave you alone in a small, confined space with him," said Sonic. "I was afraid you might strangle him."

"With one arm?" Tails retorted.

"You'd manage," said Sonic. The sniper started the car and drove to Sonic's apartment.

"You kept this place?" Tails asked when they entered the apartment.

"For emergencies," said Sonic. "Like this one."

"Wow," said Tails. "Fridge stocked with fresh food?"

"Yeah, went out and got some stuff when you were unconscious," said Sonic. "I thought I might be here a while."

"Good, I'm hungry," said Tails. He went over to the fridge and started to take food out of it. He sat down at the table with a plate and started eating. The sniper walked in and plopped down on the couch that he had slept on the night before. He looked at the clock. Three-thirty in the afternoon. He got up and went into the kitchen and looked through the fridge. He couldn't find anything he wanted to eat, so he closed the fridge and grabbed a pear out of a fruit bowl on the counter. The sniper walked over to the counter on the opposite side of the room from the table Tails was sitting at. He stared across the room at the wall, deep in thought.

"Hey, Miles," said the sniper. "How accurately do you think you can trace the phone call?"

"To the nearest square foot," said Tails through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Cool," said the sniper. Tails kept eating, ignoring the sniper's presence as best he could. The sniper finally walked out into the living room and plopped down on the couch again, taking another bite of pear.

"So when are we gonna hunt this 'Griffon' down?" asked Sonic.

"Whenever he's ready," said the sniper as he pointed to Tails. "He's the one I really need to trace the call. I don't have the equipment to do it."

"Okay then," said Sonic.

"Hey, I'll be back out in a little bit," said Tails as he walked down the hallway. "I need to take a shower." He walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. He closed the door and locked it. Soon after, Sonic and the sniper could hear the water in the shower running.

"Is he still mad at me for...?" asked the sniper.

"Yeah," said Sonic shortly.

"That's understandable," sighed the sniper. "Are you?"

"I don't know," said Sonic. "I've decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. Robotnik's the one holding the gun, you're just the gun he held on Tails. It's his fault. Maybe you did need the money. But that doesn't make it right, either."

"Yeah," said the sniper. He decided that he would change the subject. "What kind of equipment does he have?"

"Computer stuff," said Sonic. "I don't know. He's the expert there. He's a computer genius. And a mechanical genius."

"Can I go take a look?" asked the sniper. Sonic leaned back in his chair and gave a long yawn.

"Sure," he said quietly as he closed his eyes. "But don't let him find you in there. He can be pretty dangerous when someone invades his space like that."

"Dangerous?" asked the sniper.

"Yeah, you could end up with a knife in your chest," said Sonic.

"I think I could beat him in a knife fight," said the sniper. Then he quickly added "Not that I would hurt him, though."

"He doesn't fight with knives," said Sonic calmly. "He throws them."

"He can throw knives?" asked the sniper, somewhat surprised.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "He's not an expert, but he's good enough."

"When did he learn to throw knives?" asked the sniper.

"About two months ago," said Sonic. "I don't even know how. I just know that's when I caught him throwing knives at a target he'd set up on a tree. He's okay at it."

"Well, Robotnik's not very well informed," said the sniper.

"What do you mean?" asked Sonic.

"He gave me a file on you and all your friends," said the sniper. "It didn't even mention this place, nor did it contain any hint that Tails had any kind of specialized skill in combat, like knife throwing."

"Hmm," hummed Sonic contently. "That's good." The sniper got up from the couch and walked to the hallway.

"Where's his equipment?" the sniper asked.

"Down the hall, to the right, third door on the left," said Sonic. The sniper nodded quietly and followed the hallway to the door Sonic had mentioned. He opened it and found a small bedroom, though he thought it looked more like a workshop. The only thing that made it a bedroom was the bed in the far corner of the room.

There was a wooden workbench by the bed. Tools of all kinds littered the top of the workbench and a laptop computer lay by them. By the bench was a desk with a desktop computer on it. Then there was a table on the opposite side of the room from the workbench, on which stood a small TV. One wall in the room was a shelving unit that was filled with books, tool boxes, and old projects that Tails had probably started, but never finished.

The sniper left when he heard the running water from the nearby bathroom stop. He closed the door behind him and turned the light off. He walked down the hallway and found Sonic sleeping in the recliner chair the sniper had left him in.

The sniper sat down on the couch again and laid back on it. He heard a door open and shut at the end of the hallway as Tails exited the bathroom. Then he heard it again as Tails entered his bedroom. The sniper laid his head back on the couch and closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Sonic was in a hallway in what looked like a hotel. He saw a door open and someone walk out of it. It was a red Mobian. Then Sonic nearly flew through the roof when he saw that it was an echidna. An echidna he thought that he'd never see walking again. He ran up to the echidna and saw that it was, as he had expected, Knuckles.

"Knuckles!" yelled Sonic happily. Knuckles didn't answer. He didn't even acknowledge Sonic. He just kept walking down the hallway. Then Sonic blinked and he was at the door again. He saw someone else walking away from the door now. Sonic couldn't see their face; he just knew that it was a full grown Mobian fox. The fox kept walking, bushy, dark orange tail twitching happily behind him. He was wearing a brown, leather jacket and a pair of dark blue jeans. He had on a pair of white sneakers on his feet. Sonic saw him turn the corner. Then he blinked again.

Now he saw Knuckles walking back down the hallway towards him. He saw Knuckles nearing the door to his room. Sonic didn't know why, but he didn't want Knuckles to open the door. The feeling got stronger as Knuckles got closer to the door. Knuckles slipped a key card into the door and Sonic got the strong urge to tackle him to the ground, but he still didn't know why. He felt like he had to stop Knuckles opening the door. So he ran up to Knuckles and tried to grab his arm, pull it away from the doorknob. But when he grabbed at the arm, his hands flew through it like it was steam. He watched the doorknob turn, the door open just a crack into the room. Then there was a bright flash and everything, including Knuckles, was gone.

* * *

"AUGHHH!" someone in the room screamed. The sniper jumped up from the couch, ready to engage in a fight with whatever caused the scream. He looked around and saw Sonic in the recliner, eyes wide open and staring straight ahead of him. He was gasping for breath and writhing in the chair. The sniper heard a door slam shut from the hallway. He ran over and grabbed Sonic and tried to hold him down in the chair. Then he looked up when he noticed someone entering the room from the hallway. He barely had enough time to dive for cover when he saw Tails standing in the hallway, arm drawn back to throw, with a knife in his hand.

"Get away from him!" yelled Tails angrily as he threw the knife. The sniper dove to the floor by the couch and heard the knife embed itself in the wall.

"Holy shit!" yelled the sniper angrily. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Tails! No!" screamed Sonic as he got up from the chair.

"Sonic, what'd he do? Why'd you scream?" Tails asked quickly.

"Nothing, it was a nightmare," said Sonic. "It wasn't him. I had a nightmare, that's it. It's fine." Tails stared at the sniper, anger still in his eyes.

"A nightmare?" asked Tails.

"Yeah, a nightmare," said Sonic said quietly. "It was about Knuckles. Just leave it be."

"Okay then," said the sniper. He went over to the knife in the wall and pulled it out. Tails came over and took it out of his hands. "You almost killed me."

"Now we're even," said Tails coolly as he walked away. He went back to his room and the sniper sat down on the couch. Sonic sat back down in the recliner and gave a heavy sigh.

"I think it's time we went on the hunt for your friend's killer," said the sniper.

"I think so, too," said Sonic quietly. He got up and walked into the hallway. The sniper followed him as he went to Tails' room. They opened the door to find Tails sitting at the computer. He turned when he heard the door open and faced the sniper and Sonic.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly as he turned back tithe computer.

"We're goin' on a hunt," said Sonic with a smile. "We need you to trace a call."

"Okay, let me see the phone," said Tails. The sniper handed the phone to Tails. Tails dug through a drawer in the desk and found a wire that he connected the phone to the computer with. Then he opened a program on his computer and a world map dominated the screen. Then he took three headsets out of the desk and synced them to the phone.

"Okay, all set," said Tails. He handed the phone to the sniper. "I synced the headsets to the phone, but I muted mine and Sonic's, so your friend won't be able to hear us when we talk."

"He's not my friend," growled the sniper as he dialed the number.

"Anyway, Sonic and I will be able to hear everything and communicate through the headsets," said Tails. "You'll just be able to talk to Griffon. Sonic, you might wanna go ahead and start running around town so you can at least get a head-start there while me and Snipe operate things from here. We'll meet you there once we have a definite location."

"Snipe?" asked Sonic. Tails pointed to the sniper.

"Don't call me 'Snipe'," said the sniper shortly, mimicking Tails from earlier in the hospital.

"Then what do I call you?" asked Tails.

"Phoenix," said the sniper. "Call me Phoenix."

"I'm gonna go now," said Sonic. He walked out the door and left Tails and the sniper alone.

"Your old codename from the job you pulled with Griffon?" asked Tails. "Why that name? Nostalgic?"

"Try petty revenge for the whole 'Miles' thing," said the sniper.

"So why not give me a proper name?" asked Tails.

"That's the most proper name I'm prepared to give you," said the sniper.

"Fine," said Tails. "Okay, make the call." The sniper put the headset in his ear and pushed the call button on his phone. He heard the phone ringing in his ear. A couple rings later and the sniper heard someone pick up the phone.

"Phoenix, I was wondering when you'd call back," Griffon's voice came from the other end of the line.

"I'm thinking about getting a job from this scientist you worked for this morning," said the sniper.

"He pays a lot," said Griffon. "I'm not gonna have to work for a while. He's desperate, too. He might like you. You're always so very quiet, whereas, I'm loud and messy."

"Yep," said the sniper. "Where can I find Robotnik?" He looked at the computer screen. The progress bar for the trace was almost full.

"Sorry, Phoenix," said Griffon. "No chatting about that over an open phone line."

"Then where can I find you?" asked the sniper.

"Sonic The Hedgehog Plaza," said Griffon. "Downtown. You can't miss it. It has a giant statue of the hedgehog himself. He'll probably be your target, too. I bet that'll make you happy. Remember how you told me you wanted to kill him all those years ago? I always asked why you didn't just do it yourself, but you always thought you were too good for cold-blooded murder." The sniper's heart dropped into his stomach. He turned to look at Tails, who was sitting at the desk, head leaning on his good hand, fingers drumming against his skull. He had an angry looking expression on his face. Then the computer beeped to indicate the trace was complete. He looked at where Griffon was and it definitely wasn't the Plaza.

"I'll be there," said the sniper. He hung up and turned back to Tails.

"I can explain," said the sniper.

"Ooh, I bet you can," said Tails, malice layering his words.

"We can't even trust him," said the sniper. "He's not at the plaza. He's trying to lead us into a trap. We need to go get him. Then I'll explain everything."

"Okay," said Tails. He turned his back on the sniper and spoke to Sonic. "Sonic, he's not downtown. He's up the street from the apartment. We'll meet you there. I'm sending the location to you."

"Let's go," said the sniper. They both ran out the door, but the sniper stopped him. "Wait, you can't go. You're in a sling. It'll be way too wild for you. You have to stay here."

"No way," said Tails. "I'm going with."

"Sonic, will you back me up?" asked the sniper. Tails looked away as he listened to the ear piece.

"Fine," grumbled Tails angrily as he walked to the couch and sat down. The sniper ran out the door and down to the street. He was trying to remember where the map had said to go. He ran to his car, opened it up, and grabbed two pistols out of it. He closed the door and ran up the street, putting the pistols in his belt.

Two minutes later, the sniper was at the door of the building that Griffon was in. It was abandoned and run down. He knew this was it. He walked in the front door and drew both guns, being careful to watch for anything suspicious. He walked down a dark hallway, listening intently for any movement. He walked slowly and quietly. Then he heard a zooming sound just outside the front door. He turned around to look and found Sonic standing right behind him.

"Good, you're here," said the sniper. He offered a gun to Sonic. "Want one?"

"No thanks," said Sonic. "I'm not really a gun person."

"Okay then," said the sniper. He continued walking, guns trained in front of him, ready to fire in an instant, with Sonic following.

"How did you get Tails to let you leave after that whole 'you want to kill Sonic' thing with Griffon?" asked Sonic. "I didn't fall for it. I'm not that vulnerable to psychological warfare, but Tails is a little unstable right now."

"I'll explain that later," said the sniper.

"Explain what?" asked Sonic as he followed close behind the sniper. "How you got Tails to leave? Why? What'd you do?"

"I'll explain the whole 'I wanna kill Sonic' thing later," said the sniper.

"You mean he was telling the truth?" asked Sonic in a loud, surprised voice.

"SHHH!" the sniper hissed at Sonic. "Do you want to let him know we're here? I'll explain it later. Right now, we have to focus on this. This guy doesn't trust us. He gave us a dummy location, probably to lead us into a trap. I don't wanna give him the upper hand by letting him know we didn't fall for it. He probably has a backup plan, but we have the element of surprise. He's good, but we can take him of we get the drop on him." They turned a corner and found an empty room with a table in the middle of it. On the table was a computer. Sonic and the sniper walked over to it and found a cell phone connected to it. They saw that there was a map on the screen and a blinking red dot on it. It said "Last call traced" in yellow letters over it. The dot was directly over Sonic's apartment. Then the phone rang. The sniper picked it up and pressed a button on it.

"Hello?" said the sniper as he put it to his ear. Sonic mouthed the word "speaker" to him. He took the phone away from his ear and pressed another button. He set it down on the table and they both listened intently.

"Did you really think that Robotnik didn't tell me about you, Phoenix?" Griffon asked in a cold, malicious tone. "He told me everything. He was wondering why you never came for your money after that news report about the little fox's death this afternoon. Potassium chloride. I never could figure out why you always preferred to keep your killings quiet. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm paying a visit to your little hideout." He gave a short, sadistic chuckle. They heard a door open and shut over the line. Sonic gave the sniper a look of alarm.

"Oh ho ho," they heard Griffon say over the phone. "That's why you never came for the money. The fox is still alive. Well, not for long now. Tell Sonic I'll be sure to send him a lock of fox fur from his friend. I'm afraid there won't be much more of him left after I'm done." He hung up and left the sniper and Sonic in silence.

Sonic walked over to the sniper, grabbed his hand, and took off. The sniper only remembered seeing a giant blur in his vision and concentrating on keeping hold of the guns in his hands before they were at the apartment door. The sniper took a moment to let his internal organs find their way back to their right places. Then he turned to the door and flinched out of reflex at the sound of a loud CHUNK. He looked at the source of the noise and saw the tip of a knife sticking out of the door.

Sonic opened the door and saw two foxes on the couch, one on top of the other, holding a pillow over the other's face. Sonic and the sniper realized that Tails was the one on the bottom. The darker fox looked up at Sonic and the sniper. Sonic was enraged. He took one of the pistols out of the sniper's hand, aimed at the fox, and fired.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you enjoyed the fifth chapter! Like I've said before, please review, both flames and praises okay, and the wait for the next chapter may be a while, so sorry about that. So, until the next chapter. **


	6. Explanation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's chapter 6! I got it up a lot sooner than I thought I would. So... Yeah. Read and enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic aimed the gun at the fox and fired off a shot. An explosion of blood erupted from the fox's arm and he fell off the couch with a pained scream. He hit the floor, blood running slowly from his arm. The sniper ran over to him and tended the wound while Sonic checked on Tails. Tails' shoulder wound was leaking blood as well and he was unconscious.

"He's bleeding," said Sonic with a panicked voice. "What do I do?"

"Put pressure on it," said the sniper. "Stop the bleeding. It should stop after a while. Then I can re-bandage it." Sonic did as the sniper said and after about two minutes, the bleeding stopped. Sonic left the old bandage there and put a pillow under Tails' head. He went over to help the sniper, who didn't actually need help, as he had already bandaged the fox's wound and knocked the fox unconscious.

"Okay, help me lift him up, but be careful about his arm," said the sniper. Sonic helped him lift the unconscious fox up and they put him in a chair at the kitchen table.

"Should we bind his hands and feet?" asked Sonic.

"Do you have any cable ties?" asked the sniper. Sonic went over to a drawer and pulled some out. He was handing them to the sniper when a scream erupted from the couch in the other room and made Sonic jump and drop the ties.

"SONIC!" screamed Tails from the couch. Sonic ran over to him.

"Tails!" said Sonic, alarmed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," said Tails after he had calmed down. "What happened? Why am I soaked in blood?"

"Griffon was a step ahead of us," said Sonic. "He tried to suffocate you with a pillow."

"Sonic, he had a bomb!" said Tails quickly. "I remember he had a bomb in his hand. It was big. I think he was gonna blow up the apartment."

"Where is it?" asked Sonic.

"I think over there," said Tails as he pointed a finger at the chair by the door. Sonic ran over and looked behind the chair. He reached back for something and pulled it out. It was a bomb.

"Hey, Phoenix," said Sonic. "How do you disarm a bomb?"

"Why?" asked the sniper as he entered the room.

"Because there's a bomb," said Sonic as he held up the metal, cylindrical object. The sniper came over and looked at it closely.

"This bomb's not armed," said the sniper calmly.

"Oh," said Sonic. "Okay then."

"Now," said Tails as he sat up on the couch. "Why don't we hear the explanation our friend owes us?"

"Fine, but you might wanna sit down," said the sniper. Sonic went over to Tails and sat by him. He put the unarmed bomb on the table. "Why don't we start with the name? My name is Nate Daniels and I took this job two days ago because I wanted to kill Sonic The Hedgehog."

* * *

Shadow was sitting in his office at G.U.N. Headquarters. He was looking over the police report about Tails' assassination when someone knocked on his door and came in without waiting for his permission.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir," said the agent that had entered unannounced. "But I was told that you would want to see to this case personally." He handed Shadow a file.

"Why?" asked Shadow as he looked at it. "It's just... Oh." He had looked inside the file and his face froze when he read the file.

"Something wrong, sir?" asked the agent.

"No, I just have to go pay a visit to a friend," said Shadow quietly as he put the folder under his arm and stood up. He ushered the agent out of the room and left to go pay a visit to Sonic.

* * *

"What?" asked Sonic in an astonished voice. He and Tails stared at the sniper with faces that conveyed total shock. "You wanted to kill me?"

"So wait," said Tails as he recovered. "Why did you try and kill me?"

"Because Robotnik was paying me to," said the sniper. "My plan was to kill you, collect the money, and pass it on to Robotnik that I would be the perfect person to kill Sonic."

"Why?" asked Sonic.

"Because I blamed you for killing my family," said the sniper. "Years back; you were battling one of Robotnik's insane robot creations in the city my family lived in. I was out of town that afternoon to run some errands. I came back and found you fighting this giant robot. I couldn't find my family. Then, after everything had calmed down, I saw the list of the dead. It was short, but not short enough. Three names too long. Lucy Daniels, Blake Daniels, and Luther Daniels. My wife and kids.

"It was shortly after that that I got into the assassination business. I had lost my job and everything I had. I just couldn't cope with what had happened. So I got desperate. Someone paid me a good sum of money to kill someone else. I had no idea who they were or who they wanted me to kill, aside from a picture of the target. I did it. Quietly, too. No one suspected a thing. They ruled it as natural causes. So I kept killing. Word spread and, before you know it, I get a strange call from someone. A somewhat insane billionaire who wants me to help kill off his competition. I meet him where he wants me to and I find out that he's hired four other guys to do the same thing. Griffon was one of them. The others were Dragon, Unicorn, and Hippogriff."

"I hate to be the guy who was named Unicorn," said Sonic with a chuckle.

"It was a girl," said the sniper.

"Yeah, the kind of girl who would pull a gun on you while you were in bed together to amuse herself," said an amused voice from the kitchen. Griffon had woken up. "She did that to me once."

"Anyway," started the sniper to change the subject. "We were all given our own targets. We all had to take them out in a certain period of time. All the others were caught in the act. Griffon and I were the only ones to get away with it."

"What'd you do to them?" asked Tails.

"I poisoned my target," said the sniper. "Griffon blew his up."

"That must have been messy," said Tails. "How did he get away with that?"

"It wasn't that messy at all, actually," said the sniper. "His target was the only person who died. Blew up his entire hotel room. No fires even. Just an explosion and the target was blown out of the room. The explosion didn't even kill him. He was blown off the balcony outside his room thirty floors up. The police ruled it an accident. They said he was a bit drunk that night, not really at his best coordination. They said he tripped and fell out."

"So how do you know he blew him up?" asked Tails.

"Because he told me that he did," said the sniper. "He said that he blew him out of the room. But he never told me how. He never told me what he used or how he used it."

"A magician never reveals his secrets," said Griffon with a small chuckle.

"So we stayed in touch after the job," said the sniper. "We called on each other when we needed help with another job. We worked together for a couple years, each with a different specialty. I was quiet, smart, and only did it when I had to. He did it every chance he got and he treated like an art. After a while, our differences got the better of us, we parted ways, and I haven't seen him again until today.

"Then I get a call from a certain Dr. Robotnik. He told me to meet him at his base of operations. It was a junkyard. I think he was lying about that being his base. Anyway, I thought he wanted me to kill you. I thought I'd finally be able to have my revenge. But when I get there and ask him who the target is, he gives me this." He pulled out a photograph and gave it to Tails.

"This was from five years ago," said Tails. "Is he really that out of date on me?"

"Yep," the sniper nodded. "The file he gave me on you guys didn't say anything about this apartment or about you being a knife thrower.

"So I tried to kill Tails and went to collect my money. I met him at the same place as the last meet. I asked him why he had hired me to kill you and he basically said it was simply to torture Sonic."

"Told me the same thing when I killed Knuckles," called out Griffon.

"So we don't know where he's hiding," said Sonic.

"So we need to find him," said the sniper. "Now that we're all caught up."

"Hold on," said Sonic with a confused look on his face. "Griffon said something about an obit report on the news for Tails. Who did that?"

"Sorry, I did," said the sniper. "I forgot to tell you. I called G.U.N. after you left for the hospital this morning. Told them to run a false news report about Tails' death. I didn't want Robotnik to send someone else to kill him."

"But you didn't count on him sending someone after Knuckles," said Sonic quietly.

"No, not at least until my job was done," said the sniper. "Sorry." They sat in silence for a minute before Tails thought of something.

"Wait! There was a false obit for me on the news?" said Tails urgently.

"Yeah, why?" asked the sniper. Tails ran out of the room and into the kitchen. He looked at the landline on the counter and picked it up.

"My parents probably saw it!" said Tails worriedly. "They must be freaking out."

"Aww, the wittle fox is wuwwied about his mommy and daddy," said Griffon mockingly. Tails put the phone down, drew back his good arm, pulled a knife out of nowhere, and flung it at the fox in the chair. It embedded itself in the chair right between Griffon's legs.

"What? Is that supposed to scare me?" asked Griffon with a cheeky smile. Tails let two more knives loose and they stuck into Griffon's jacket right above his shoulders, pinning him to the chair by his jacket.

"That's better," said Griffon with a grin. "Now I'm shaking."

"I thought you said he was an 'okay' knife thrower," the sniper said quietly to Sonic.

"The target's like two feet in front of him," said Sonic with a shrug. Tails picked up the phone and started dialing. He put the phone to his ear and walked quickly out of the room and down the hall. They heard the door of his room open and shut and all was silent again.

Then it was broken again by the sound of a knock at the door. Sonic went to answer the door, but it was flung open by the person on the other side. Shadow stepped into the apartment and scanned the room, looking for something.

"Help!" screamed Griffon loudly. "Help me! Please! These crazies tied me to a chair for no reason! They think I killed their friend! Help me! Please!" Shadow quieted him with a wave of his hand.

"There had better be a good reason, Sonic," said Shadow as he turned to face Sonic.

"He killed Knuckles," said Sonic nonchalantly.

"How do you know?" asked Shadow.

"Nate knows him," said Sonic. "He knows he did it."

"Who's he?" asked Shadow, pointing to the sniper.

"Nate," said Sonic.

"I gathered that, thanks," said Shadow in annoyed voice. "I meant 'who's Nate'?"

"The sniper who tried to kill Tails," said Sonic. "Twice." he added shortly.

"So why isn't he tied to a chair?" asked Shadow.

"Because he's helping us," said Sonic.

"And he's not," said Shadow, pointing to Griffon now.

"Nope," said Sonic.

"Okay," said Shadow.

"You can't seriously believe them," said Griffon in disbelief.

"Normally, I wouldn't," said Shadow. "But I recognize your fur. You left a pile of it behind in that hotel hallway last night."

"You're gonna let them tie me to a chair based on a pile of fur you found in a hotel hallway?" asked Griffon. Shadow looked him over and saw the bullet wound in Griffon's arm.

"So this was the report of gunshots that sent me here?" asked Shadow.

"Why are you investigating reports about gunshots?" asked Sonic with a cocked eyebrow.

"Because they sent me the report when they found out it was your house in the report," said Shadow. "Why'd you shoot him?"

"He came here to blow the apartment up," said Sonic as he picked up the bomb they had found.

"You can't prove that's mine," said Griffon. "At least not fast enough to keep me here. You'll have to let me go. Then, IF you prove it's mine, I'll be too long gone for you to even hope to find me."

"Okay then," said Shadow. "Would you object to being here for just another minute?" He showed the fox the un-ticking clock on the bomb. It was set to one minute. Shadow took it back and started to fiddle with the controls.

"Alright, don't arm the bomb, it's not worth it," said Griffon in an annoyed voice. "It was me. I killed Knuckles. There, happy now?"

"Yes," said Shadow with a smug grin. He put the bomb on the table. Then the grin immediately turned into a frown and Shadow's eyes glowed with pure rage. "'Cause that's all I needed from you." Shadow drew his arm back and let loose a punch on Griffon that sent him and the chair he was tied to into the wall behind him. He landed on his side with a pained grunt, chair still awkwardly attached to him.

"Nice punch," said Griffon painfully. Then his head slumped over and he fell unconscious.

"Why is he still here?" asked Shadow calmly as he walked back into the living room. "Can I take him into custody?"

"Not yet," said the sniper. "We can still use him."

"Then you won't object to my staying here and helping out, right?" asked Shadow.

"Of course not, Shadz," said Sonic with a smile.

"What happened?" asked Tails as he walked into the room. Then he added "Hey, Shadow."

"Shadow punched out Griffon," said Sonic. "Hard." Tails went into the kitchen to see.

"Whoa!" said Tails in amazement. "That looks like it hurt."

"Yeah," said Sonic. "So how'd your parents take it hearing the voice of their dead son over the phone?"

"My mom fainted," said Tails. "Dad says she's fine. They were both overjoyed about it. Said they'd been freaking out all day trying to get a hold of you to ask what happened."

"Well, I've been here half the day," said Sonic defensively.

"You don't carry a phone and no one knows you stay here," said Tails. "You're not the easiest person to get a hold of."

"Fair point," said Sonic thoughtfully. "I oughta get a cell phone."

"I can make you one like mine," said Tails as he pointed to the watch on his arm. "How did I get this back, by the way?"

"I brought it with me to the hospital," said Sonic. "I put it back in when I brought Knuckles up to the room."

"Thanks," said Tails with a smile.

"So what's the next step here?" asked Shadow.

"We find Robotnik," said Sonic.

"Easier said than done," said the sniper. "There's no way that junkyard was his base of operations. He probably met Griffon somewhere else and fed him the same lie. So we've got no lead on him. What do we do?"

"No idea," said Sonic. "Shadow?"

"Rest up and recuperate?" suggested Shadow. "I clocked out before I left headquarters, so I don't have to go back. Can I stay the night here? Y'know, guard the prisoner."

"Yeah, sure," said Sonic. "You wanna bunk with me?"

"Sure, I was gonna take the couch, but..." started Shadow.

"I've got the couch," said the sniper.

"Oh, okay," said Shadow.

"So, rest up now and start a search tomorrow?" said Sonic. "Sounds like a plan."

"Yep," said the sniper. "I'll pick up sleeping beauty over there. You got a closet or something we can put him in? And maybe a gag we could use for his mouth?" Sonic fetched him a long rag for a gag and pointed him to a large closet he had that would easily accommodate a bound-and-gagged hostage. So the sniper went about cleaning up Griffon while everyone went to bed.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It wasn't my best, but this is kind of a transitional chapter. And I wanted to know if I should start calling the sniper by his name since I've finally given him one. Right now, I'm leaning towards "not", but let me know what you think about that. So until the next chapter, which may be this weekend, but I'm not totally sure on that. And all the same stuff as before: Please review, flames and praises, favorite, alert, etc. **


	7. Liberation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here it is! Chapter 7! I didn't think that I'd finish it until after next weekend, but I was hit by inspiration like a head-on collision with a semi. I couldn't stop writing! Anyway, I brought back Amy later in the chapter and I also introduced a new... Wait! Read it yourself! What fun is it to know everything that happens by reading the AUTHOR'S NOTE?  
**

* * *

Sonic woke up feeling well rested. He sat up and stretched out his arms and yawned. He threw the covers off his body and climbed out of bed. He walked to the mirror that was hanging on the back of his door and looked himself over. He looked fit, relaxed, and still somewhat asleep.

Well, I need time to wake up, he thought to himself silently. He felt the way he looked. Relaxed, rested, and happy. But there was also something else. Something bad that was poking at the back of his mind. It was sadness. Sonic had no idea why he felt sad. He knew it was from something that happened in the last few days. He couldn't remember what.

"Oh well," he said aloud to himself, dismissing the feeling with a small, uneasy grin. "I'm still waking up. I'll remember eventually." He opened the door and left the room, hoping that he wouldn't remember. He didn't want to. He knew it was bad and he knew he didn't want to bring it to mind.

Sonic walked down the hallway to the bathroom. He locked himself in, discarded his gloves, and stepped into the shower. He stood under the water and let it run down his body, waking him up the rest of the way.

After he was done showering, Sonic grabbed a towel from the towel rack outside the shower. He toweled off, put his gloves back on, and walked back to his room to get his shoes. He walked into the room and started for the other side of the bed, where he had kicked his shoes off the night before. He was stopped when his foot caught on something prickly and furry and he fell over.

"You klutz!" Sonic heard the furry thing yell as he turned over and sat up to look at what he had tripped over. He saw Shadow sitting up beside him, wearing an annoyed and somewhat angry look on his face.

Then he remembered. The floodgates in his head broke and the memories of the last few days flowed into his mind. He remembered Tails sitting at the table when the blood exploded from his shoulder as the sniper's shot hit its mark. He remembered Knuckles and he remembered the blood that caked Knuckles' scorched fur. He remembered pulling the trigger of the sniper's gun, watching the blood explode from Griffon's arm. He wasn't really hit hard by the sudden recollection of his memory, but he was angry that he remembered it all. But then he remembered the source of all the problems that had entered his life in the past few days. He remembered the reason why Tails was wearing a sling with a hole in his chest and why Knuckles was in a G.U.N. morgue somewhere. Robotnik. The name fueled his rage as he thought of it. Then Sonic was snapped back into reality by a voice.

"Sonic, you clumsy hedgehog," said Shadow angrily. "You woke me up by tripping over me? What, you couldn't find a jug of milk to drop on my head for a ruder wakeup call?"

"Sorry," said Sonic, not completely caught up with reality. "I... I forgot you were here. I came back for my shoes..." his voice trailed off.

"Sonic, you alright?" asked Shadow. Sonic looked up at him and he caught up with himself.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Sonic as he stood up. Shadow stood up with him, stretched out his arms, and yawned. Sonic went to collect his shoes. He put them on and walked back over to Shadow. "You got any idea how to find Robotnik?"

"Nope," said Shadow. "And I don't wanna think about it right now. I need a shower. Bathroom?" Sonic showed him to the bathroom and then went to the kitchen. He saw Tails at the table eating a bowl of cereal. He grabbed a bowl for himself and sat down next to Tails.

"How's your arm?" he asked Tails as he poured cereal into his bowl.

"Fine," said Tails as Sonic grabbed the milk.

"I'll give you a VERY large amount of money if you drop this on Shadow's head," Sonic said with a chuckle, shaking the jug. Tails looked at him with a confused expression. Then Sonic pointed to the sling. "Does it hurt to sleep with?"

"A little if I lay the wrong way," said Tails with a half shrug, as he only shrugged with his good shoulder. "It's kinda annoying."

"Well, you only have to wear it a couple weeks," said Sonic.

"Yeah," said Tails. "Good thing it's not longer. I like being able to use both arms. So, have you thought of a way to track down Robotnik?"

"Nope," groaned Sonic. "Neither has Shadow. What about our sniper friend?"

"I don't know," said Tails.

"Where is he, anyway?" asked Sonic. "I didn't see him on the couch. And how's our hostage?"

"I don't know where Nate is," said Tails. "He said he was going out on a run around town. And I think Griffon's still asleep."

"I'll check on him after breakfast," said Sonic. "So where did Phoenix go?"

"I said he went running," said Tails. "I followed him. He left his car, so he's not running for it, if that's what you're getting at."

"Okay," said Sonic. "So have you tried flying with the sling?"

"Yeah," said Tails. "I tried this morning and last night. It was a little weird because I just have to let my arm dangle in the sling. I can't wait to get this thing off."

"Sorry," said Sonic. "You're gonna have to."

"Does this mean I'm out of the fight with Robotnik?" asked Tails.

"Yeah, probably," said Sonic. "I don't know how you'd be able to fight him. You might have to stay behind for that."

"Aww, c'mon," moaned Tails. "The doctor said that I only need the sling for two weeks. Do you really think you'll find him by then? I did some digging last night, and I mean DEEP digging. I called people all over the city that might have seen Robotnik around where he met Griffon and Nate. Nothing. He's good at hiding, Sonic. There was absolutely nothing. Maybe Shadow can dig a little deeper, look at store cameras, street cameras, phone records, stuff like that, but I don't know if he'll find anything either."

Sonic knew that Tails might be right. So far, he had no idea where Robotnik could be. He'd been amazingly quiet for a long time until the cafe. No one had seen or heard him for at least a year since before that. Sonic remembered how he had promised himself that he'd kill Robotnik before Knuckles' funeral, but Sonic didn't know if he'd be able to keep that promise. He sighed and looked up at Tails.

"I've gotta at least try," said Sonic quietly. He took a spoonful of cereal from the bowl in front him and leaned his head on his hand. They heard the front door of the apartment open and shut as someone walked in. They turned around and found the sniper standing at the door, wearing a bluish-gray T-shirt and loose, red shorts, bent over to catch his breath.

"Long run, Phoenix?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah," said the sniper, panting. He walked over to the fridge and retrieved a bottle of water from inside. After a few large swigs from the bottle, he sat down at the table with them.

"So, have YOU thought of a way to find Robotnik?" asked Sonic.

"Not even sort of," said the sniper with a sigh. "How's Griffon doing? When I checked before I left, he was sleeping."

"Let's check again, then," said Sonic. He got up from his now finished bowl of cereal and walked to the closet he had shown the sniper the night before. He reached for the knob, but when he tried to open it, it wouldn't budge. Then he noticed a bolt and lock that had been installed up towards the top of the doorframe. He also noticed another one just like it towards the bottom.

"I got the key," said the sniper as he pulled a key out of his pocket.

"How did you install bolts and locks on our closet last night?" asked a slightly amazed Tails. "I didn't hear a thing last night and I was up pretty late."

"I used a hand-drill, not an electric one," said the sniper. He unlocked the bolts and slid them out of place to unblock the door. Then he took a gadget that was no larger than a pen and aimed it at the door jamb by the knob. There was a click and the sniper put the gadget away. "I also electrified the door. This is just a transmitter. Like a car beeper. You point it at the receiver and press the button. The radio signal tells the small generator I put in there to turn off. Door electricity shuts off."

"What if one of us touched the door?" asked Tails. "Wouldn't we get electrocuted?"

"No," said the sniper. "I only electrified a metal wire-grid on the inside of the door, not the door itself. Griffon tries to kick down the door, ZAP! It won't hurt him. It's just like a stun gun, but the generator will overload after about three seconds. Then he'll be left unconscious in there and the generator will reboot after a while."

"Wow, you must have had a long night," said Tails in a bewildered voice.

"Not that late," said the sniper. "Midnight maybe? I don't remember the time exactly, but it was definitely before one. Sonic, go get my gun." Sonic retrieved his gun from the coffee table by the couch and gave it to him.

"Why do you need your gun?" asked Tails.

"If I was in his position, I'd have already escaped my bindings," said the sniper. "We need to be ready for him." The sniper turned the door knob and immediately the door was blasted open and hit the sniper full on in the head. He fell backwards and lay on the floor, unconscious.

"You're getting old, Phoenix," said Griffon with a malicious chuckle. "I never would have been able to get the drop on you like that back when we worked together." He dove out of the closet, did a side roll onto the ground, and landed in front of Tails. He aimed an upward kick at Tails from his crouched position and sent Tails flying down the hallway. Tails hit the wall with a _thud_ and was careful to land on his good arm when he hit the ground.

"TAILS!" yelled Sonic angrily. He charged at Griffon and aimed a punch for his face, but Griffon dropped and slid on the ground, ducking the punch and aiming his own punch into Sonic's solar plexus. Sonic doubled over, unable to breath. Griffon walked down the hallway and stood over Tails. He pulled out a knife and flicked it open menacingly. Tails was filled with fear, eyes wide and tearing up slightly as he watched the knife come slowly to his throat.

"Now," said Griffon sadistically. "I'm gonna kill you and bring you back to Robotnik. Maybe he'll give me Phoenix's share for you." He smiled evilly as he brought the knife up to by his ear. Then there was a smacking noise and the fox assassin tensed up and fell over on top of Tails. He was unconscious. Shadow was standing over him, slightly wet and what he would consider naked as he had no shoes or gloves on.

"Am I the only one who can take this guy down with his bare hands?" asked Shadow in a frustrated voice. "I can't even take a decent shower without you guys needing me. Why don't we just leave him in the closet unless we absolutely need him?" He walked over to Sonic and helped him up. Sonic was panting slightly and put his hand on the wall to keep his balance.

"He just jumped out," said Sonic. "Knocked Phoenix out with the door and kicked Tails across the room. Is your shoulder okay?" He walked down the hallway to Tails and pulled the unconscious body of Griffon off him while Shadow helped him up.

"Yeah, I think so," stammered Tails in an unnerved voice. "He came outta nowhere. He just slammed the door into Phoenix's face and the rest went downhill from there."

"Four brushes with death in a couple days," said Sonic with a chuckle. "These are good stories to tell a girl, if you ever actually get together with one." Then Sonic noticed the unnerved expression on his face. "You alright, Tails?"

"Yeah, it's just those other times, I never saw it coming," said Tails. "But this time I knew it was gonna happen. It's a little surreal."

"What about when he tried to smother you?" asked Sonic.

"I don't even remember that," said Tails. "It was totally wiped from my memory after I passed out."

"Hey, you need to sit down or something?" asked Sonic softly. Tails snapped his face up to look Sonic in the face.

"No, I'm fine," said Tails, reverting back to normal. "Let's get this guy back into the closet and get Phoenix on the couch."

"Count me out," said Shadow as he walked back into the bathroom and closed the door.

* * *

Tails sat down, coffee in good hand, at a table in a cafe. He was meeting someone there, but had decided not to meet at the cafe he usually went to, for obvious reasons. He took a sip of his coffee and looked up at the clock. Three o' clock in the afternoon. He turned his head to the door as he watched a pink hedgehog walk in. She walked to the counter and ordered her coffee. Then she walked over to Tails and sat down across from him.

"Hey, Tails," Amy said softly. Her eyes were red and the pink fur under them was tearstained.

"You heard about Knuckles, then?" asked Tails sadly.

"Yeah, it was all over the news," she said with a sniff. She put her hand over her mouth as she stifled a sob. Then her face changed from one of sadness to one of anger as she looked at Tails. "As was a certain story about you!"

"Sorry," said Tails as he shrank back from her in his chair.

"You couldn't have floated a call my way?" she asked angrily as she reached across the table and aimed a slap to the top of his head. "I was in pieces when I heard about Knuckles! Imagine what I was like when you're story came on the news! I tried calling Sonic a million times! I knew we shouldn't have trusted that sniper! I bet he went off and killed Knuckles, too. When I get my hands on him-!"

"Amy! Hold on!" said Tails quietly, but firmly, grabbing her hands from across the table. "First off, he wasn't the one who killed Knuckles. Secondly, we caught the guy who did. Thirdly, we have him locked up at Sonic's apartment. Fourthly, no one really knows I'm not dead and I don't wanna attract attention to myself." Tails lifted his hand up to cover his face as he noticed people started staring. He also did his best to hide his second tail behind his leg.

"So why didn't you call me to tell me that you weren't actually dead?" she asked in an angry whisper.

"Because I didn't even know," said Tails. "I didn't find out until a while after the story aired."

"And what did you do when you found out?" asked Amy.

"Called my parents to tell them that I wasn't dead," said Tails.

"And you didn't think about me?" asked Amy coldly.

"Sorry, I was a bit preoccupied," said Tails defensively.

"What could have been so important that you couldn't have thrown me a tiny bone about your continued existence?" asked Amy, voice still level, but ice cold.

"How about a certain echidna-killer that was tied up in my kitchen?" asked Tails.

"Well, he couldn't have been keeping you that busy if he was tied up," said Amy, still with an absolute zero tone.

"Okay, I'm sorry I didn't call you," said Tails. "I promise if I ever fake my death again you will be the second number I call. Unless Sonic wasn't aware either. Then you're the third. Can we just say 'no harm, no foul' and move on?"

"But there was harm, Tails," said Amy. "I was off my head for a whole day! I was on the phone ringing every number I thought could lead to Sonic. I usually call you to get a hold of Sonic, but I thought you probably wouldn't answer, for a very obvious reason. Then I cried myself to sleep last night and I woke up and cried some more in my bed. Then, lo and behold, I get a call this morning, and guess who's still breathing! Well, not for much longer if you ever pull a stunt like that again!"

"I'm sorry, Amy," said Tails. "I'd totally forgotten. I didn't even think of calling you about Knuckles. You're not the only one who was emotionally capsized by his death."

"Well, you don't seem very badly affected," said Amy, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Well I cried myself to sleep last night, too," said Tails defensively. "And if it weren't for the fact that I'm devoting basically every bit of brain power to finding Robotnik, I don't even know how well I'd be hanging on. Finding him is the only thing driving me right now. I've had four near-death experiences in the last few days and it's all because Robotnik wants to get to Sonic. If it weren't for trying to find him, I might be in my room, curled up in a ball on my bed, crying."

"Oh, c'mon, Tails," said Amy sympathetically. "We both know you're too strong for a couple attempts on your life to bring you to that level. You've had plenty of near-death experiences before this."

"Yeah, but those were usually accompanied by a certain degree of expectancy and I was prepared for them," said Tails. "These were just surprises. It's not like I did anything to survive them. I just survived on luck. What if he tries again? What if I'm not as lucky next time? It's one thing to go on adventures and into battle with Sonic without knowing if I'd survive the encounter, but now I'm scared that it's going to happen to me all the time. I'm scared to go out on the street for the fear that I'm gonna get shot or blown up just walking down a road." Tears were starting to gather in his eyes now as well. Then they started streaming down his face and he started to sniff. Amy got up and walked to the other side of him. She sat down next to him and embraced him in a hug and let him cry into her shoulder.

Tails felt relieved, to say the least. He'd been holding that in since he had almost been smothered by Griffon the day before. This is how he imagined Atlas would feel if he could ever let the sky down off his back. Amy held him gently while he cried. He buried his head into her shoulder and let the tears stream down arm and chest. Then they heard someone call her name and Tails let her go retrieve her coffee. He put his good elbow on the table and leaned his head on his hand. He groaned exhaustedly, feeling ten times better than when he had walked into the cafe. But still not very good.

Tails looked up suddenly as he heard the bell on the door ring, signaling that someone had entered or exited the cafe. He saw a fit-looking, tall, blonde woman in skinny jeans and a black tank-top walking to the counter. She was wearing black sunglasses and a sharp shade of red lipstick on her face.

"You better, Tails?" asked Amy softly as she sat down and took a sip of coffee.

"Much, thank you," said Tails sincerely as he took a sip of coffee as well.

"So, where's Sonic?" asked Amy. Tails was surprised that that hadn't been her first question.

"He couldn't make it," said Tails. "He had to go take care of funeral stuff for Knuckles. And maybe me too, since we're still sticking with the whole 'fake-death' thing."

"Aww, that does not sound fun at all," said Amy. "He should have brought me along. I could have given him a shoulder to cry on. He may deny needing it, but I know he needs it. Seems to have done you a load of good in just one minute. You look a lot better than before, Tails."

"Yeah, just keep that under your hat, okay, please?" asked Tails.

"Alright, mum's the word," said Amy. "Why guys are so bent on hiding stuff like that from other guys, I'll never know, but okay."

"It's just that I told Sonic I was fine," said Tails. "And I was. Kind of. And I just don't want him finding out that I told him I was fine and then I came here and wept openly on your shoulder."

"Sonic wouldn't have cared, though," said Amy. "You could have gone to him about this. He wouldn't have thought any less of you for it, or anything like that."

"I know, it's just me crying about it would have led to him crying about it," said Tails. "And next thing you know, we're both openly weeping on his couch with Shadow and two professional assassins in the house and the whole thing would have just been one giant, awkward mess. This was so much quieter and cleaner. I guess I just needed that cathartic release."

"Okay, Tails," said Amy. "I probably need to pay him a visit, too. First I'll wallop him silly for not calling me about you. Then I'll sit him down and have a good talk with him like the one we had. He may need that kind of release, too."

"And you want to be the shoulder he cries on," said Tails with a smug smile.

"You know it," said Amy, returning the smile. "So you say that you caught the guy who killed Knuckles?"

"Yeah," said Tails. "We have him bound and gagged in a closet."

"Think you can leave him bound and gagged and let me alone with him for a minute?" asked Amy.

"I would totally be all for that if I didn't think we could still use him," said Tails.

"Oh, it's not like I'm gonna try and kill him," said Amy.

"What about leaving him comatose?" asked Tails.

"Okay, point taken," said Amy. "Maybe it's best that I just never meet the guy."

"Good idea," said Tails.

"So are we gonna go back to Sonic's place so I can give him an earful?" asked Amy.

"Sure," said Tails. They both stood up and walked toward the door. They opened it and Tails heard the ringing sound again as the bells on the door jangled. They walked down the sidewalk in front of the cafe, both with coffee in hand. Then Tails' ears perked up as heard the ringing again. The bells jangled again as the door to the cafe opened and closed again. Tails snuck a glance behind him. He saw the blonde woman again. He decided that it could have been coincidence, but he thought that he should be careful.

He and Amy walked down the street a little farther and turned the corner. She followed them down it. Then they broke into a run, fake laughing and giggling, making it look like they were just running for the heck of it rather than for Tails to see if they were being followed. The blonde didn't run to make chase, but Tails definitely noticed that she at least doubled her walking pace to keep in their vicinity. Finally, after turning a couple more corners, walking in circles around the blocks a couple times, and ducking into a random shop, to which Amy posed a lot of questions about, Tails decided that the woman was following them.

"Hey, Amy, I think we might be being followed," said Tails. "That blonde woman from the cafe has been following us since we left."

"Oh, is that why we've been going in circles around the city?" asked Amy, feigning a cheery voice as she took a compact mirror out of her purse to look behind her while pretending to inspect her face. "And here I was beginning to think you were trying to spend as much time as possible with me to ask me out or something like that."

"No, but hearing that gives me an idea," said Tails with a smile.

"What?" asked Amy curiously. Tails leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Pretend to whisper in my ear," whispered Tails. "Then play along as best as you can. And I may have to kiss you." Amy leaned in to fake-whisper in his ear.

"Eww, no," said Tails loudly with a fake laugh after she pulled away. "That's too messy, Amy. And this is in public."

"Oh, c'mon, Ace," said Amy just as loudly and fake-happy, picking up on Tails' idea. "It'll be fun. The fact that it's in public just makes it more exciting!"

"Okay, let's do it," said Tails as he grabbed her in an embrace with his good arm and put his lips to hers. He pulled her into an alley, still kissing her, and backed down it with her in his good arm until he hit the wall at the end of the alley.

The blonde woman smiled as she walked down the alley after them. No one saw, but as she turned down the alley, she pulled a knife out of her purse. She raised the knife, looking for her victims in the shadows at the end of the alley. Then, there was a light whistling sound and something flew out of the shadows. It hit the knife in her hand and made her drop it. She heard something hit the wall to her left and she looked up. There was another knife, a throwing knife, embedded in the wall. She reached down to get her knife, only to find it in pieces on the ground. Then she noticed that the sounds the two teenagers were making had stopped. She tensed up and took a readied stance as she waited for something to happen. And it did.

Immediately as she readied for combat, a pink hedgehog flew out of the shadows, flying through the air above the woman with a large hammer brought up over her head. The woman dove to dodge the hammer and heard a crash as she hit the ground. She looked back and saw that the ground was cracked and dented where the hammer had made impact. Then she heard to dull thuds as two knifed flew out of the shadows and pinned her jeans to the ground. Amy brought the hammer up again and landed a blow over the woman's head. She immediately collapsed and fell unconscious.

"I told you it would be messy," said Tails as he walked over to check on the woman.

"Well, we didn't attract a lot of attention," said Amy.

"Whatever," said Tails as he pulled his phone off his wrist. Then something occurred to him. "Ace?"

"Fake name," said Amy with a shrug. "I thought it might help you keep your cover or something. You're not really supposed to be alive."

"I don't see how changing my name helped," said Tails. He dialed a number and put the phone to his ear.

"Oh, whatever, Tails," said Amy. "Who are you calling?"

"Hey, Nate," said Tails without answering Amy. "I need you to pick me up in an alleyway on Sixth Street." He listened for a minute as the person on the other end of the line spoke. "Yeah, but I need a car, and he doesn't know how to drive." Tails listened again and gave a small chuckle. "I know, right? It's just this thing he has about cars." He listened for another few seconds. "Okay, see ya in a few." He hung up and put the phone back on his wrist.

"Who was that?" asked Amy.

"The sniper who tried to kill me," said Tails, a little nonchalantly for the statement he made.

"His name's Nate?" asked Amy.

"Yeah," said Tails.

"Hmmm," said Amy thoughtfully. "He doesn't look like a 'Nate'. My first guess would have been 'Harry'." Tails gave her a stare that said "Okaaay?" and went about tying up the unconscious woman. They waited a few minutes before the sniper showed up in the alley with his car. He helped them load the unconscious woman into the trunk and they all got into the car. The sniper started the car and drive off back to the apartment.

"So your name is Nate," Amy said to the sniper.

"Yes, and your name is Amy Rose," said the sniper. "Now that we're acquainted, what do you think that woman was following you for?"

"To kill us," said Tails.

"Wrong," said the sniper. "I hid you well, Tails. She was there to kill, but you weren't on her target list until she saw you with Amy. You were dead to her until then."

"She was there to kill me?" said Amy, outraged.

"Bingo," said the sniper.

"That means Robotnik is still putting hits out on us," said Tails.

"Yep," said the sniper. "And as far as he knows, he's been successful, more or less. He knows that you and Knuckles are dead, so now he wants to take a third."

"So what do we do?" asked Amy.

"Let him think he did," said the sniper.

"What, fake my death?" asked Amy.

"Yes," said the sniper shortly. "If he thinks he killed you, then he won't send another person to finish you off. And we can expect him to make another strike."

"At who?" asked Tails and Amy in unison.

"Shadow," said the sniper.

* * *

They arrived at the apartment a few minutes later. The sniper carried the unconscious woman up by himself while Tails led the way to the apartment for Amy.

"Sonic!" she said in a sing-song voice when she walked in the door. "I'm here to hammer you into a pulp!" Shadow walked into the living room from the kitchen.

"He's not here," he said. "He's still at the mortuary making arrangements for Knuckles and Tails."

"Well, tell him to make arrangements for me, too," said Amy. "Because I'm dead, too."

"What?" asked Shadow in a confused voice.

"Robotnik sent another assassin out," said the sniper as he walked in the door and put the woman on the couch. "You're gonna have to put out a fake obit report for Amy now."

"Great," said Shadow sarcastically. "And later I have to go to a press conference to talk about all the assassinations." Tails turned to look at the sniper with a worried expression. The sniper met Tails' gaze with a somewhat less worried one.

"No-go on that, Shadow," said Tails quickly. "You're the next target. He's going for you next. You can't get up in front of a crowd like that. It's like giving an open invitation to kill you. You'd be better off walking down the street with a target literally painted on your back."

"Well, it's not like I have a choice here, Tails," argued Shadow. "I have to go up there."

"No, just tell them that you can't go up because it'd be detrimental to your existence _in this life_."

"It doesn't work like that," said Shadow. "If I don't get up there, then people are gonna start going vigilante. They're scared out there, Tails. And when you take a group of people and get them worked up like this, things can get bad fast. And it means more work for us keeping vigilantes off the streets and keeping them feeling safe in their beds at night."

"That's a job for the police, Shadow," said Tails.

"Not if it gets bad enough," said Shadow. "I'm fine Tails. The security will be good enough. I'll tell them to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. They'll have my back."

"What are you gonna be doing up there?" asked Tails.

"I'm gonna get up, say that I'm heading up the investigation," started Shadow. "Doing everything I can to find whoever's killing my friends, answer some questions, and then I get off."

"That's still enough time to shoot you through the heart," challenged Tails. "Or blow you up. Or hit you with a poison gas grenade, or something."

"Well, I'll have to take that risk," said Shadow. "I have to do this, Tails." Tails was silent for a moment before he responded.

"Fine," said Tails submissively. "I'll just go call Sonic and tell him to make funeral arrangements for you, too. So, can I borrow some money? Four caskets ain't exactly cheap." He walked down the hallway to his room and the sniper, Shadow, and Amy heard the door open and close.

"Okay, next order of business," said Shadow, pointing to the unconscious woman on the couch.

"Oh, that's who tried to kill Amy," said the sniper.

"Okay, do we know anything about her?" asked Shadow.

"Well, I don't," said the sniper. "But let's go ask the expert. Well, when I say expert, I mean ex-boyfriend." He walked over to the closet, unlocked the bolts, turned off the electricity, opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, what are you doing?" they heard Griffon say loudly. Then the sniper came out carrying the chair that Griffon was tied to. Griffon was making a lot of noise and the woman on the couch began to stir. The sniper put Griffon down in front of the couch and the woman sat up. They stared at each other for a minute before someone spoke.

"Oh, god, you?" Griffon groaned loudly, and somewhat fearfully.

"You," growled the woman coldly. She drew her bound hands back and backhanded him across the face. He landed on the ground and fumbled around uncomfortably, grunting painfully, still attached to the chair.

"Why does everyone do that?" he shouted angrily.

* * *

Robotnik sat in his homemade thrown, watching his computer screen as it broadcast the report about the murder of Amy Rose. He smiled sadistically as it played.

"Three down, one to go," he said aloud to himself. He only needed one more before he went in for the final kill. And it wasn't going to be a simple assassination. It was going to be spectacular. He didn't want to simply SEND someone to kill his archenemy. He wanted to relish that pleasure himself. He was going to kill the hedgehog slowly and painfully and he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

"Hello," said a voice behind Robotnik. The voice actually sent chills down his spine.

"Good," replied Robotnik, sadistic glee layering every word he spoke. "You made it."

"You have the money?" asked the dog. He was a black dog that was wearing a pair of jeans and a brown leather jacket. He didn't wear any shoes.

"First, I want him dead," said Robotnik. He gave the dog a picture.

"Big fish," said the dog. "Good thing you got the right rod to catch it with. But I need the money up front first."

"No deal," replied Robotnik coolly.

"Well, what if I gave you a little bit of information that you might find interesting," said the dog, holding a CD.

"What is it?" asked Robotnik. The dog threw him the CD. Robotnik inserted it into the laptop he had brought along with him to the meeting. A video played on the screen.

It was a security video of an alley. Then Robotnik almost choked on the French fry he was eating when he saw something that he knew to be impossible. It was Tails. But it wasn't just that it was Tails. It was Tails in a sling. And a bandage where the sniper had shot him. And he was holding Amy in his good arm. He was embracing her tightly as they kissed. Then they hit the wall of the alley and slid onto the ground. Robotnik turned from the screen and looked at the dog.

"He's still alive?" he shouted in angry disbelief.

"Keep watching," said the dog coolly. "It gets much more interesting."

Robotnik continued to watch as Amy and Tails got up off the ground. He saw Tails reach down and grab at his shoe. When he straightened back up, there was something in his hand. It glinted in the light. He drew back his arm and threw it. Then the camera angle changed and he saw the woman he had hired to kill Amy holding a knife. Then something flashed in the light and she dropped the knife. She bent down to pick it up, but found it in pieces. Then Amy flew out of the shadows and struck at her with her hammer. The woman dove to the ground and there were two more flashes in the air and two knives appeared by her legs. Robotnik could barely make out the small knives and saw that they had pinned the woman's jeans to the ground. Then Amy swung her hammer again and hit the woman over the head. The woman laid there unconscious. Robotnik shut the computer and looked at the dog, who was holding his open paw out.

"Money. Up. Front," he said to Robotnik with a smile.

"Okay," said Robotnik. "I'll give you a third of the money up front. Since I just tripled the amount I was going to pay you. I'm changing your target list. I want the fox and the pink hedgehog dead. I want their bodies, too. And the original target, too. Bring me his body. I'll wrap them up in a giant bow and leave them on the hedgehog's doorstep. It's time I stopped taking the words of killers-for-hire as proof of a finished job. And find out if that echidna's actually dead as well."

"I can safely say that he's dead," said the dog with a smile. "And you can count on me to get the others, doc. Leave it all to me. Those brats won't know what hit them. Well, they will. But they'll wish they wouldn't have."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I introduced Unicorn into the story. I thought that if Griffon was a part of the story, than I could bring her in too, maybe explore their past together a little. And she's not the last person from Nate's old five-man job to enter the story (HINT, HINT). Anyway, same old, same old now. Please review, flames and praises okay, tell your friends, favorite, alert, and shout angrily at every fire hydrant you see. Okay, maybe not the last bit. Okay, 'til next chapter!**


	8. Diversion

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay! Here is chapter 8 of the story! I am still on a roll with the writing. This chapter was a bit of a short one, though. But that's because it's a cliffhanger. And I have already started writing chapter nine, too, but I'm not gonna post it 'til at least Monday, maybe a bit later. What's the fun of a cliffhanger if you don't let the readers dangle dangerously over the edge for a while? So now, I give you chapter 8: Diversion...  
**

* * *

Sonic walked into his apartment feeling somewhat exhausted. He had just gotten back from the mortuary, as he had gone there to make funerary arrangements for two people, but he ended up making them for three because he got a call halfway through the meeting and received the message that Amy had been attacked by an assassin as well and there was another death to fake, so he had to make arrangements for her as well.

He knew that his meeting with the mortician probably wasn't normal, seeing as it was a G.U.N. mortician who was helping him fake the deaths of two of his friends, but that didn't make it any more pleasant. He still had to make real funerary arrangements for Knuckles, and that was far from fun. Sonic felt that the even the word "agonizing" might still be an understatement when it came to describing the experience. And it didn't help that he had gone to do it alone. He had asked Tails to come with, but Tails said he needed to go meet Amy to tell her he wasn't actually dead. Sonic hadn't pushed him because he thought he could handle it alone. Oh, how he was mistaken.

Sonic kicked his shoes off and left them by the door, an act that he didn't normally perform. He liked to keep his shoes on in case he had to run somewhere or he just got the sudden impulse to run, but he felt too exhausted to run anywhere right now.

Then his spirits fell lower, which, up until then, he thought would have been impossible, when he caught sight of the angry, pink face staring up at him from the couch. Sonic turned his gaze to Tails, who was sitting in the recliner by the couch.

"Tails," said Sonic in a worried, almost fearful voice. "Why is she mad at me?" Amy got up from the couch, hammer in hand, and walked up to him.

"I'm angry at you!" started Amy loudly. "Because you didn't call me to tell me about Tails not being dead!"

"Well, he didn't either," said Sonic defensively. "What about him? Have you read him this riot act?"

"I did! At the cafe!" said Amy angrily. "Now it's your turn. And now I'm bringing out my hammer!" She brought the hammer up and dropped it down on his foot.

"Ow!" yelled Sonic painfully. "What about him? Did he get the hammer?"

"No," said Amy as she brought the hammer up over her shoulder. "Because you didn't answer your phone when I called about his AND Knuckles' deaths. I was semi-catatonic for half the morning because of that! The only thing I could do was try to call you! And did you pick up? NO!" She swung the hammer again and Sonic had to back up against the door to avoid being hit.

"Well, like I said, he didn't call you either," said Sonic fearfully. "And he's the one who actually thought to call someone!"

"Yeah, and you didn't think to call anyone!" said an outraged Amy. "And I expect you to think to call me first if Tails is dead! And I expect you to call me period if something like this happens!" She aimed the hammer again and Sonic ducked to avoid it. He was now on the ground, cowering under Amy's hammer, and totally cornered.

"Okay," said Sonic quickly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I didn't call you! I'm sorry that you had to go through that! I promise I'll call you next time someone dies!"

"Which may not be that long in coming," cut in Tails.

"What?" asked Sonic confusedly.

"Shadow has to give a press conference about how he's heading up the investigation of our murders," said Tails. "And we think that he's the next target. And he still insists on going up on that stage."

"Well, I'll talk to him," said Sonic.

"Don't bother," said Tails. "He's totally adamant on it. I already tried. He told me that he'd have security jacked up a couple levels, but that it was imperative that he get up for that conference."

"Well, then I don't know," said Sonic. "And I don't feel like thinking about it right now. Right now, I wanna sit down and pretend like Robotnik isn't gunning for everyone I care about." He sat down on the couch and sighed heavily. Amy sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"How was the mortuary?" asked Amy quietly.

"Not fun," said Sonic, too exhausted to act surprised at Amy's mood swing from furious to sympathetic. "Not fun at all. It was indescribably horrible, actually. There's no description that could have prepared me for what it feels like to choose the last set of clothes your best friend's gonna wear or what caskets he's gonna spend eternity in. I mean, it sounds like it shouldn't be a big deal, but the feeling you get when you're actually doing it is just..." He leaned forward and put his head in his hands and groaned softly.

"It's okay, Sonic," said Amy reassuringly.

"But it's not, Amy," said Sonic. "I keep thinking that I could have taken down Robotnik a long time ago. But I just figured he'd given up."

"So did everyone else, Sonic," said Tails.

"Yeah," said Amy.

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic. "I know it's not my fault. But I'm just not taking this well. Especially after that visit to the mortuary. I should not have gone alone. I kept wishing someone was there to help, like they could take part of the load of making the arrangements for Knuckles."

"I guess I'm not the only one who took this hard," said Amy softly. "I mean, I know you wouldn't just brush this off, but I thought you'd stay a little level headed through it."

"I'm not taking this well," said Sonic. "I'm trying to keep my cool, but..." He sniffed loudly and leaned back again. Amy leaned back with him, still keeping her head on his shoulder.

"It's fine," said Amy. Then Sonic did something that Amy only dreamed would happen. He put his arm around her back, held her closer, and leaned his head on her shoulder.

"I just want this all to be over," said Sonic. "I'm tired of it all. I mean, before, it was all just fun and games for me. Or that's how it felt. I always felt like I would always come out on top, no matter what. But now, people are dying. And Robotnik has the upper hand here. Knuckles might not be the first. What if someone else dies? I just wanna make sure that that doesn't happen."

"Tails, would you give us a minute alone?" asked Amy. Tails got up and walked down the hall to his bedroom. That's when Sonic broke. He'd never cried like this before. He just sat there, crying into Amy's shoulder. She held him tight the entire time. No one disturbed them. Then after two minutes had gone by, Sonic finally stopped.

"Feel better?" asked Amy after he lifted his head off her shoulder.

"A lot better," said Sonic in a relieved voice. "Thanks, Amy."

"Good," said Amy softly.

"So, what happened to the assassin that tried to attack you?" asked Sonic.

"She's in the closet with Griffon," said Amy. "You're gonna love this. It's Unicorn! From the five-man job Nate did a while back or something like that. Tails tried to explain it to me, but I'm not sure I followed it all."

"Really?" asked Sonic disbelievingly

"Yeah," said Amy.

"So does that mean that Robotnik is hiring from that five-man team?" asked Sonic. "'Cause there's two others that still haven't shown up."

"Well, that means we keep a lookout for them," said the sniper as he entered the room. "Or just Dragon, because the other one's dead."

"But wait, I thought you said that everyone on that job, aside from you and Griffon, got caught," said Sonic.

"They broke out of prison," said the sniper. "Long time ago. Anyway, if Dragon's out for you, you need to watch out."

"But he's not out for me," said Sonic. "He's out for Shadow now, right?"

"That's right," said the sniper. "And we've all tried talking him out of the press conference. He's outright refusing to listen."

"Well, then we just need to take extra precautions to keep him safe up there," said Sonic.

"How do we do that?" asked the sniper.

"Haven't got a clue," said Sonic. Then he thought of something. "Don't you all have a specialty? Like Griffon does bombs, you do poisonings and shootings, stuff like that? What's he do?"

"That's the problem," said the sniper. "He doesn't have a favorite way of killing. The only thing you can predict about him is it's going to be a show for him. He enjoys his work way too much. He's not sane."

"So we just sit back and watch?" asked Amy.

"Well, you do," said Sonic. "I'm going to that press conference to make sure that Shadow stays safe. You and Tails can't leave the house. You're both dead."

"That sucks," said Amy.

"So how are we gonna keep Shadow alive?" asked the sniper.

"You can scout out the area for possible sniper perches," said Sonic. "We can have security do routine bomb sweeps. And we can have everybody in the audience searched."

"How do we search the audience?" asked the sniper. "It's a public event. Anyone can come."

"Fence off a certain radius of the conference and put security checkpoints out," said Sonic.

"You really think they'll go for that?" asked the sniper.

"I don't know, but we have to at least try," said Sonic.

"Okay," sighed the sniper. Sonic ran to tell Tails the plan. After he came back out, he and the sniper left to go tell G.U.N. their plan. Amy felt a little annoyed that she had to stay behind. Tails came out and sat next to her. He flipped the TV on and they both watched for a little while until Shadow came out of the hallway and left to go to the press conference. Tails flipped the channel on the television to the channel that the press conference would be on.

* * *

Shadow was called up to the podium by the director of G.U.N. He stood there and looked over the crowd of people. He saw the security fence that had been erected at a two hundred yard radius and he saw the security checkpoints that had been set up to search everyone in the fenced area for weapons. Shadow knew this was as safe as it was going to get for him. There was a bomb sweep going every twenty minutes and Nate had had every possible sniper perch in the area checked. So why didn't Shadow feel safe?

"I know that you've all heard about the murders of the city's heroes," Shadow said into the microphone at the podium. "I would like to start by saying that there should be no cause for anyone to panic. We feel that there is no cause to believe that any other citizens are in danger. The person who is ordering the assassinations is not targeting any citizens. And I am here to tell you-" Shadow stopped. Something didn't feel right. He looked around. Everything seemed fine, but there was something bugging him. He hated speaking publicly, but there was something else that was scratching at the back of his mind. Some kind of warning. "-That I am going to head up the investigation into these killings and that you can trust me to catch the person responsible for killing my friends." No sooner had the last word left his mouth than Shadow had seen the muzzle flash from one of windows of the building straight ahead of him. He dove as fast as he could. He heard the loud CRACK of the shot, but he didn't hear any impact. He looked around on the ground for a mark left by the bullet. He searched his entire body as he heard the chaos erupt from the crowd, women screaming, men shouting, children crying, people rampaging away as fast as they could. It was a stampede. When Shadow didn't find any wounds on his body, he stood up and saw where the shot came from.

"CHAOS-!" started Shadow and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

"-CONTROL!" finished Shadow as he reappeared in the room of the window that he saw the flash come from. He looked down and saw what had made the CRACK he had heard and the flash he saw.

"Sonic, Nate, it's a decoy," said Shadow into the microphone in his glove.

"What do you mean?" Shadow heard Nate's voice in the ear bud in his ear.

"He took a corpse, propped it up to the window on wooden slats, and duct taped the rifle to the hands of the body," said Shadow. "It's not a real sniper."

"Why'd he do that?" asked Sonic over the radio.

"How'd he fire the bullet?" asked the sniper.

"I don't know," said Shadow in response to both questions. He heard a ringing noise over the radio.

"Hold on, guys, I'm getting a call," he heard Nate's voice say.

* * *

"Hello?" the sniper answered the phone.

"Phoenix," he heard a chilling voice say over the line. "It's been a long time, hasn't it? We really need to catch up."

"What game are you playing, Dragon?" asked the sniper.

"Oh, you always know what game I'm playing," said the malicious voice.

"Yeah, so who are you gunning for now?" asked Nate. "Because it's obviously not Shadow. So, who else is there? Everyone else is dead."

"Well, see, that's where you're wrong," said the voice of Dragon. "Amazing what people will do for their friends, isn't it? Some will cover for them at work, some will let their friends stay at their house during a financial rough patch, some will let their friends borrow their cars. Hell, some would even play dead for their friends." The sniper's heart skipped a beat at these words. "Now, imagine, if you will, the look on a certain doctor's face when I showed him a security video of his 'dead' targets perfectly alive and well and giving a nice beating to our friend Unicorn. Well, when I say perfectly alive and well, I mean minus the sling."

"Where are you?" snarled the sniper.

"Oh, just paying a visit to the good, old, friendly neighborhood hedgehog," said Dragon with a chuckle. "Oh wait. He's not home though, is he? Oh well. I'm sure his 'dead' friends will be able to keep me in adequate company until he comes home." The sniper hung up the phone at these words.

"Sonic!" the sniper shouted over the radio. "He's after Tails and Amy! Get them outta there!" He flinched as he heard the sound of a sonic boom and felt the shockwave of it.

* * *

Tails was sitting and watching the press conference with Amy. They were watching in hopes of finding out what had tried to shoot at Shadow. That's when there was a knock at the door. Then Tails jumped as he heard the sound of a sonic boom over the speakers of the television.

"Who's that?" asked Amy.

"I don't know," said Tails. He got up to go look through the peephole when he saw something that made him stop in his tracks halfway to the door. The lock on the door started slowly turning itself. As it turned, the bolt slid into the door. He knew it wasn't someone with a key. He would have heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. The lock turned completely and the bolt receded the rest of the way into the door. Then it opened slowly, menacingly. Tails reached down into the hollowed slit in the sole of his shoe and pulled out a knife. He gripped the knife in his hand nervously as someone stepped into the apartment.

It was a black dog. He was wearing a leather jacket and a pair of jeans. Tails let loose the knife without thinking. He watched as the knife flew across the room to the dog. Then he watched, open-mouthed and dumbstruck, as the knife stopped in midair in front of the dog's chest.

"Huh-?" was all Tails could manage to say as he watched the knife slowly begin to spin in midair, slowly getting faster and faster, rotating like a chopper propeller. Then the door closed on its own and an evil smirk appeared on the dog's face. Then he flicked his hand up and the knife flew across the room and sliced Tails across the wrist, reducing his watch-phone to pieces and cutting a long gash in his wrist.

Tails yelled with pain and grabbed his bleeding wrist. He looked up at the black dog, who still had an evil smirk on his face. Tails held his wrist with his bad arm, gripping it tightly in the sling. Amy jumped at the dog with her hammer. He reached out at her and she stopped in midair. She dropped her hammer as she was sent flying into the wall. She started grabbing at her neck and gasping for breath.

* * *

Sonic arrived at the door of the apartment. He grabbed the knob and turned it, but the door wouldn't budge. He pushed as hard as he could. He knew the door wasn't bolted, it simply wouldn't budge. He banged, he kicked, and he pushed, but to no avail. Finally, he knew he had to break down the door. He set himself up to spin-dash it down, but, before he could, he was hit by an unseen force and sent flying over the rail behind him. He tried to grab at the rail, but he couldn't reach it. He fixated his gaze on the outdoor bridge he had fallen from as it zoomed away from him as he fell faster and faster to the ground below.

* * *

"Tails..." gasped Amy quietly."Ru... Run." She passed out and was dropped to the floor. Tails turned to face the dog, but was sent flying into the wall. He could feel the invisible squeeze around his throat, like hands strangling him. He gasped for breath as he watched the dog walk up to him.

"Do you have any idea what you're dealing with, kid?" asked the dog with a menacing chuckle.

"Robo-... Robotnik," Tails whispered.

"No," replied the dog quietly, evilly. "I'm the one you're dealing with. Robotnik would kill for the kind of power I have."

"Ho... How?" gasped Tails as tears started streaming down his face. He gasped for breath and was able to draw in some air. He saw spots starting to appear in his field of vision.

"Telekinesis," said the dog shortly. "Total control of everyone and everything around me. And I barely even have to move a finger." He flicked his finger up and Tails saw the couch behind the dog fly into the kitchen with a CRASH. Then there was a flash and a loud CRACK behind the dog.

"-CONTROL!" Shadow appeared from the bright flash behind the dog. The dog turned around and sent Shadow flying into the other wall with the wave of his arm. Shadow hit the wall with a pained grunt and fell to the floor with a THUD, unconscious. Tails knew this was it for him. He knew there was no way he would survive. Sonic wasn't going to save him. He knew that Sonic had tried, but the dog was too good. Tails saw the darkness inch into his field of vision and everything started fading. He stopped struggling and let the darkness claim him. It felt to him like falling asleep, just with a throbbing head.

"Goodbye, Sonic," he barely managed to whisper aloud before he blacked out.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Did you like it? Big cliffhanger, huh? (Singsong voice) And only I know what happens next! Haha! Anyway, is Tails gonna die? What happened to Sonic? Is Dragon too good for them to beat? Wait a couple days to find out. So, for now, review, favorite, alert, tell friends, and eat yourself sick at a Chinese buffet. So, 'til next time!**


	9. Negotiation

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here it is! Actually, a little earlier than promised. I just had the best weekend ever and that totally fueled my writing. So, now you can read the next chapter of my story and finally resolve that cliffhanger I left in the last one. I think I may have enjoyed dangling you all over that cliff a bit too much for my own psychological well being, but who needs sanity? Haha! So, on with the show! Read and enjoy. Oh, and, just a warning, this chapter gets a little corny.  
**

* * *

Sonic opened his eyes slowly. All he could see was the sky. And clouds.

"Am I dead?" he asked himself aloud. No, he thought silently. I can't be dead. It takes more than a five-story fall to kill off Sonic The Hedgehog. And I have definitely taken harder hits and come out with barely a scratch.

He moved his head to the side and saw a building. It was his apartment building. Then he heard a loud CRASH. He looked up at the outdoor walkway he had fallen off of. Tails! He had to get up there. He took off for the apartment, leaving a large cloud of dust where he had been standing.

He arrived at his door a couple seconds later and heard a loud _thud_ from inside. It sound like a body had hit the floor. He grabbed the door handle and pushed the door. It opened this time. But Sonic stopped dead in surprise, heart stopped momentarily, at the sight of the scene in front of him.

It wasn't what he saw that stopped him walking in and pounding the assassin within an inch of his life. It wasn't the couch in the kitchen, Shadow and Amy's bodies on the floor, or the dog that seemed to be holding Tails up against the opposite wall without touching him. It was what he heard.

"Goodbye, Sonic," Sonic heard the whisper, which, in reality, was barely audible, but to Sonic, it might as well have been as loud as a large cannon firing into his ear. The soft whisper of Tails' voice saying goodbye to him with one last breath echoed inside his head, louder than a rocket blast-off, and made him stop dead in his tracks.

The dog turned around and saw Sonic as Tails dropped to the floor, limp, slinged arm sticking up awkwardly as he lay there. Sonic couldn't move. He was horror stricken. Then he felt himself slowly getting on his knees, being forced down by a large, invisible weight on his shoulders. He let it bring him down, giving up resistance and getting on his knees, which felt like jelly. He couldn't watch anything but the limp fox body, staring helplessly at it, hoping that it would move, get up and launch a knife into the dog's heart.

His gaze was jerked away as he was pushed by the same invisible force to the side and up against the wall by the doorway. He was held there by that force, sitting on the floor, unable to move. He watched, dumbstruck, as the dog lifted his hand up and the three bodies on the floor rose into the air. The dog walked out the door and the bodies followed. First Shadow, then Amy, and finally Tails, arms dangling, Tails' left arm still in the sling.

Sonic waited for a couple minutes, still being held against the wall. After about two minutes had past, he felt the unseen force leave him, but he still sat there, motionless and silent. Then the closet door flew open and Griffon and Unicorn walked out.

"Freedom," said Griffon, taking a deep breath. "Told you so. Just like our date in Downunda."

"Okay, fine, you told me so," said Unicorn with an amused chuckle. She surveyed the room and whistled. "What happened here?"

"Yeah," said Griffon eyeing the couch that was sitting upside down in the kitchen. Then he spotted Sonic sitting on the floor. "And who do we have here?"

"Well, it looks like someone had one too many drinks," said Unicorn. "Is he even lucid?" She walked up to him and snapped her fingers in front of Sonic's eyes. He didn't show any response.

"I don't know," said Griffon as he looked at the hedgehog. "But who cares. He trapped us in that closet. C'mon, let's get outta here and leave him to die of alcohol poisoning." They walked past him and out the door. Then Sonic heard a series of thuds and smacks and grunts outside the door and they were thrown back into the room, followed shortly by a gun wielding Nate.

"Get back in the closet," said the sniper gravely. "Now."

"Aww, c'mon, Phoenix," said Griffon. "Obviously something bad went down here and we're no use to you. Just let us go and be rid of us. We're just gonna break back out anyway."

"Dragon's involved," said Nate.

"Oh," said Griffon. "So, are we gonna take him out?"

"Here's my plan," said Nate. "Us four track down Robotnik, kill him, kill Dragon, and split the money three ways."

"Why are we doing this?" asked Unicorn with her hands on her hips.

"Because Robotnik is a sick sonofabitch that needs to be taken down," said Nate.

"Agreed," said Unicorn. "If he hadn't been offering me money, I would have shot him the minute I saw him. He's scum. He sent to me to kill a fourteen-year-old girl. Who does that?"

"He sent me to kill that fourteen-year-old fox that nailed you to the ground with those knives," said Nate. "So are you in?"

"Yeah," said Griffon. "So, what now?"

"I think it'd be best to get some rest right now," said Nate, looking at Sonic.

"Speak for yourself, Phoenix," said Unicorn. "We've been locked in a closet for a whole day. I'm going out for a drink or two. And this fox is coming with me."

"Okay, fine," said Nate. As they were walking out the door he added "Don't drink too much! We need you sober and hangover-free tomorrow!" He got down by Sonic and softly tapped his face. "Hey, you alright?"

"Tails..." Sonic almost whimpered the name.

"What happened?" asked the sniper.

"He killed him," said Sonic quietly. "He got all of them. He took them all."

"We're gonna find him," said Nate reassuringly. "We're gonna take him out." Sonic slowly got up and walked to his room, leaving Nate alone in the room.

* * *

Tails woke up feeling cold. Cold and alone. He opened his eyes, but all he saw was darkness. He felt dizzy. He couldn't tell which way was up. He let himself wake up more. Then he realized that he was wearing a blind fold. He tried to take it off, but couldn't move his hands. He couldn't move his feet either. He was tied to a chair. He could feel it against his arms and his legs.

"Oh, thank God, I'm alive," Tails said aloud. "And tied to a chair. Where am I? And where's my sling? Hello! Is anyone there?"

"Yes, you're alive," said a voice. Tails recognized the voice, but he couldn't remember from where. "For now."

"Who is that?" asked Tails.

"It'll come to you," said the voice with a chuckle. Tails could see the smirk on the dog-face when he heard the chuckle. The memory flooded his mind. Amy, Shadow, Sonic, the couch, the apartment, the invisible strangling, the blackout. The whispered goodbye.

"Where are Shadow and Amy?" snarled Tails furiously. He tensed up in anger, but yelped when a hot surge of pain charged through his body from his shoulder. Tails gritted his teeth in pain. "Where's my sling?"

"Right here," said the voice. Tails assumed the dog had it in his hands.

"I need it," said Tails. He heard a couple footsteps coming closer to him and someone bent down to whisper in his ear.

"Oh, I don't know about that," the dog spoke right in Tails' ear, malice layering every word several times over. "I thought that, with the way things are planned for today, long term damage to your shoulder wouldn't be something you need to worry about _ever_ again." Tails gulped nervously.

"What was the point of taking it from me?" asked Tails.

"To keep you tied to the chair," said the voice, now several feet away, Tails estimated. "I'm not stupid, Miles, I was at the apartment with you. And I saw that tape from the alley. I've seen enough to know to keep you as tied down as possible."

"What tape?" asked Tails.

"Yeah, I found a tape of you and Amy giving Unicorn a good beating," said the voice. "Y'know, for a guy who was actually doing a good job of hiding his existence, you sure didn't do a good job of checking that alley for cameras. Though, I'm thinking you were more concerned with protecting your girlfriend. You're a smart kid, Miles. And an excellent knife-thrower. Unexpected from a kid like you. On the outside, it's like he's smart, mechanically inclined, and he can fly using his two tails. Not every day you run into that. But you think as long as you have a gun, he's toast. Then, while you're drawing your gun, BOOM! There's a knife sticking out of your chest and he's gone."

"Okay, first, she's not my girlfriend," said Tails. "And can you at least take the blindfold off so that I can talk face-to-face with you?"

"Why?" asked the voice.

"Because this could very possibly be the last real conversation I have in this life," suggested Tails. "Have a little pity." The voice laughed.

"An assassin with pity," said the voice in between laughs. Then Tails was blinded as the blindfold was ripped off of his head. He let his eyes adjust to the light. He was in a small, bare, dark room. He looked up and saw the black dog, now wearing just a pair of jeans, leaning against a table in the middle of the room. It was only him and the dog in the room.

"Okay, so, how do you know my name?" asked Tails. "Or rather, my real name." The dog held up a wallet. Tails' wallet. He flashed the ID inside.

"Mobian ID badge," said the dog. "What do you mean real name?"

"What, Robotnik didn't give you a file on me?" asked Tails. "That's funny. He gave one to Phoenix."

"I told him I didn't need it," said the dog. "Why? What name do you go by?"

"Tails," said Tails.

"Wow, that's not obvious at all," said the dog sarcastically.

"I was five, give me a break," said Tails. "I don't like 'Miles'."

"Whatever," said the dog casually.

"What'd you do with Shadow and Amy?" asked Tails.

"Oh, they're safe," said the dog. "For now." He smiled evilly. He got off the table and walked to the door.

"What's the plan here?" asked Tails. The dog stopped at the door. "What's gonna happen. What are the next few hours of my life going to consist of?" The dog turned and looked him in the eye, expressionless and uncaring.

"A painful death," said the dog in an indifferent voice. He turned to the door again and walked out, leaving Tails in silence.

Tails set to work immediately, now that he knew what was in store for him should he fail. He took stock of everything he had. A couple knives, none of which were in reach, his shoes, his gloves, a gashed wrist, which was now well dressed, and a bandaged shoulder wound. He was immobilized, he had a chair, and a table. Tails was now wishing he hadn't taken total stock of what he had because now he was almost sure he was gonna die.

"Damn, why didn't I hide any emergency knives in my gloves in case this happened?" Tails asked himself aloud.

"Well, you did," said a very familiar voice behind Tails left shoulder. Tails jumped at the sound of the voice and then grunted painfully as pain shot through his body from his shoulder again. He heard the voice laughing behind him and turned around, hoping that he wasn't hearing things. He wasn't. He saw, on the ground, a blue hedgehog, doubled over in laughter, obviously at Tails' terror.

"SONIC!" said Tails loudly with relief. "Thank God. C'mon, let's get outta here." Tails noticed something different about the hedgehog. He seemed to be, well, glowing. Unnaturally glowing. His entire body seemed to be outlined with a sort of bright blue light. It was barely visible, but very noticeable.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Tails," said Sonic with a soft smile.

"What are you talking about?" asked Tails confusedly. "Just untie the ropes. Or cut them. Or-" He stopped short when he saw something that caused his heart to drop painfully into his groin. Sonic was waving his hand through the chair arm and Tails' wrist. His hand didn't even touch it. But it did at the same time. Sonic's hand was completely intangible. It went through the chair like smoke.

"Oh," said Tails, disheartened. "You can't."

"Yeah," said Sonic, smile faltering slightly.

"Why not?" asked Tails. Tails was afraid of the answer.

"I don't know," said Sonic with a shrug. "I don't really remember anything after Shadow's speech. I was there and then I was here. It's kinda confusing." Tails listened to the words and his heart sank. He knew the answer straight away. He didn't want to believe it and he thought that it was totally crazy.

"I think I know why, Sonic," said Tails softly. "You're dead, Sonic." Sonic laughed nervously at this.

"What are you talking about?" he said with a nervous chuckle. "I'm not dead. I can't be. I wouldn't be here."

"Then why can't you touch the chair?" asked Tails. "You're a ghost. That fall off the walkway at the apartment killed you."

"Then why am I here?" asked Sonic curiously.

"Maybe to help me," suggested Tails. "Or to tell me not to worry about it. To tell me everything's gonna be fine. To tell me that there's no way out. That I'm gonna die here. I don't know."

"Well, how can I help you?" asked Sonic.

"You said that I did have a knife that I could use to cut myself free," said Tails. "What'd you mean by that?"

"Well, you do...ish," said Sonic. He pointed to the back of Tails' left glove. "You got a small knife tucked in the lining of your glove. See if you can get it."

"Okay," said Tails. He had forgotten about the knife in his glove. He tried to get it, but he couldn't reach it with his fingers. "But I can't. Can't you just get it for me?"

"No," said Sonic with a sad smile. "Maybe I'm not here to help you. Maybe I am here to tell you everything's gonna be alright. Or just to tell you that you are gonna die. To tell you that it's no worry. I mean, I can't remember, but if I'm here, it couldn't have been that bad."

"Yeah, that must be it," said Tails with a sad sigh. "I mean, that's what makes sense right now."

"How?" asked a concerned Sonic.

"Well, obviously you're a ghost," said Tails, voice now breaking a bit. "And you've been sent here for a reason. And if you can't help me, it's 'cause you're not allowed to because I'm supposed to die here." Tails sniffed loudly. "But what doesn't make sense is that you don't remember how you died or why you were sent here. Why wouldn't you be able to remember that? Unless you didn't know." Tails' head was reeling with new ideas. "Maybe you aren't dead, Sonic. You didn't know about dying, you didn't know about being sent here, you were just... Here."

"Well, if I'm not a ghost," said Sonic. "How am I here?"

"You're a figment of my imagination," said Tails. "So to speak."

"What?" asked Sonic.

"You're a coping mechanism," said Tails. "I'm hallucinating to help myself think. So I'm seeing you to help myself think of a way outta here."

"Okay," said Sonic. "And how is that workin' for ya?"

"Pretty well, actually," said Tails. He just thought of an idea. He worked his wrist out as far as he could down the arm of the chair. He hooked the glove on the edge and slid it part of the way down his hand. He balled his hand into a fist and turned the glove around so that the back was over his palm. He slid his hand back into the glove and slowly balled his fist, careful not to impale a finger on the knife in the glove. He pushed the knife slowly between his fingers until it was all the way out of the glove and gripped between his index and middle fingers. He manipulated the knife in his hand and turned it around to put it against the rope on his wrist. He started cutting slowly.

"See any cameras?" asked Tails while slicing through the ropes.

"Nope," said the imaginary Sonic.

"Good," said Tails with a smile as the rope snapped and freed his wrist.

* * *

Sonic was awoken by the sound of the phone ringing. He didn't want to answer it. He felt horrible, empty. He didn't want to move, he didn't want to think, he didn't want to do anything except lay in his bed until Robotnik decided to finish him off as well. Eventually, after a couple rings, the phone stopped and he was left in silence. He heard Nate talking in the other room. Sonic assumed he had answered the phone.

* * *

"Hello?" said Nate into the phone.

"Phoenix," said Dragon's voice over the line. "So, how'd you like my little show at the press conference? I thought it was brilliant. A corpse sniper. Perfect diversion. Gave me just enough time to storm the apartment and take down Shadow when he teleported in, which I totally knew he would do."

"What'd you do with them?" asked Nate angrily.

"Oh, don't worry, Phoenix," said Dragon feigning reassurance. "They're fine. But they won't stay fine for long. My employer has a proposition for the hedgehog. I didn't kill him, did I?"

"No, he's... unconscious," said Nate slowly. "We can't get him to wake up."

"Oh, gee, that's too bad," said Dragon. "My employer wants to talk to the hedgehog. He won't speak to anyone else."

"Well, you can tell him that it's your fault he can't talk," said Nate. "And I want proof of life."

* * *

Sonic's eyes snapped open at the sound of these words. He bolted up in his bed and was at the door in the blink of an eye.

"Tails is still alive?" Sonic asked Nate. Nate looked him over. It had been only an hour and a half, but Sonic looked like he had been stricken with acute insomnia for several weeks. His eyes were red and bloodshot, his quills and fur stuck out at odd angles, and Nate thought he could bring him down with a flick to the forehead.

"I'm ascertaining that now," said Nate quietly.

"Fine," Nate heard over the phone. "Who do you want?"

"Tails," said Nate shortly. The line was silent aside from ambient noise. Nate heard a door open and shut before Dragon responded.

"Nope, sorry," said Dragon, feigning a nervous chuckle. "Miles 'Tails' Prower is currently unavailable."

"Estimated time of availability?" asked Nate, hoping that Dragon meant Tails was just unconscious.

"Indefinite," said Dragon casually. The sniper's heart skipped a beat at this.

"Shadow," said Nate quietly. "Give me Shadow."

"Now, that I can do," said Dragon. Nate waited a couple more seconds and heard another door open and shut. Then a voice spoke into Nate's ear.

"He- hello?" asked the voice.

"Shadow!" said Nate urgently. "What's going on? Did they kill Tails?"

"Gee, I don't know, I've been a bit concerned with my own well being lately," said Shadow groggily.

"Sorry," said Nate, getting out of earshot of Sonic now. "I asked him to let me talk to Tails and he said that Tails was unavailable."

"Maybe he's still unconscious," said Shadow, still groggy.

"They said 'indefinitely'," said Nate. "Are you alright? You sound sorta... groggy."

"They've got me on some drug to impede my chaos powers so I can't teleport outta here," explained Shadow with a slurred sentence. "I don't know what they've done to Tails, but we need to get outta here fast."

"Where are you?" asked Nate.

"How the hell should I know?" asked Shadow. Then Nate heard the phone being taken from Shadow.

"As you can see, or hear, I guess, Shadow is fine," said Dragon. "Amy is too. If you want them back, I need to talk to Sonic."

"Sonic's out," said Nate. "And what about Tails?"

"I'm sorry, our foxy friend won't be making it to our little affair today," said Dragon. "He got a little naughty. Rocked the boat too much. Tried to escape. It was an accident, really. I didn't mean to do it, but he is one feisty fox. All those knives. He was really good at throwing knives. Shame, actually. I was beginning to like him. Smart, clever, a fighter, and easily underestimated. I like those qualities. Oh well, at least we can all take solace from the fact that our favorite, little, two-tailed fox died quickly. It was just a little snap of the neck. Like whiplash, except with a lot more force. I just threw him into that wall a little too hard."

"Don't know your own strength?" asked Nate, trying to keep his voice level.

"Sorry, I didn't want to do it, but he made me," said Dragon. "How he cut himself free, I will never know. Now, I need to talk to Sonic if you want to be able to see the others alive."

"FINE! YOU WANT ME? YOU GOT ME!" yelled an angry voice over the line. Nate looked out the door and saw Sonic, looking a lot better with straightened fur and quills and no-longer-bloodshot eyes, talking on the other landline phone. "Now, what do you want to ask me? Because I wanna know when it's my turn to ask questions. Like, for example, how far do you think your own foot will go down your gullet?"

"Sonic, good to hear your voice," said Dragon. "Now, now, it's not a time for rash action. We need to think before we act here."

"You're right," said Sonic angrily. "I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just gonna help. But first, I'm gonna bring you to the Prower's, where you can meet Tails' father. He'll help me kill you."

"Okay, you work on that plan right now," said Dragon. "I have someone who would like to talk to you."

"Yeah, give me your master," said Sonic. "I have a few choice words for him."

"Oh, Sonic," said Robotnik's voice over the phone. "How nice it is to hear your voice again."

"Can't say the same here, Robotnik," snarled Sonic.

"Well, then let me cut to the chase here," said Robotnik. "I have grown tired of our fighting and I want it to stop. But, being my petty self, I don't want to just let you live your life in peace. No, I want our hostility toward each other to go out with a bang. So, here's my assessment of our situation. Tonight will be the final battle between you and me. One of us will die tonight. Who knows who it will be? So you're gonna come down here and we'll finish this tonight. But if you don't come, I'll kill your friends."

"Oh, I'm coming!" said Sonic angrily. "I'm coming to kill you, Robotnik, but not to finish this. Not because you threatened my friends either. I'm coming to kill you to avenge Tails. You killed him and now you're gonna pay dearly for it."

"Well, you have one hour to get here before I kill your other friends," said Robotnik.

"How do I find you?" asked Sonic.

"I'll send you the location," said Robotnik. "GPS coordinates and everything. You can come and rescue your friends and we can finally end this."

"I'll be there," growled Sonic. "Count on it."

* * *

"You killed the fox?" asked a curious Robotnik.

"Well, not yet," said Dragon as he started walking away. "I gotta go find him first."

"What?" asked an outraged Robotnik.

"He escaped," said Dragon nonchalantly. "I gotta go find him. Then kill him."

"So why did we tell them he was dead?" asked Robotnik angrily.

"Psychological warfare," said Dragon.

"Yeah, that's backfired," said Robotnik angrily. "That insane, blue hedgehog is now angrier than ever at me. That's a disadvantage."

"Not when you've got me on your side," said Dragon. "I live to fight people who blunder head on into a fight."

"Okay," said Robitnik, calming down a bit. "Now go find that fox. Keep him alive if possible. I want to watch that hedgehog witness the slow death of that fox."

"Has anyone ever called you a sadist?" asked Dragon curiously.

"Yes, a couple times, why?" said Robotnik with an evil grin.

"Good, just making sure it's been done before," said Dragon as he walked away to go find Tails.

* * *

Tails walked quickly and quietly through the silent, dark corridors of the facility he was trapped in. Tails knew that Robotnik didn't build this place. It was too old. Tails thought that Robotnik must have moved in and hunkered down here after Sonic brought down Robotnik's last base.

Tails thought that Robotnik must be either severely understaffed or just plain cocky because there was an abnormal lack of robot patrols or guards in the hallways. That's when Tails spotted two robots walking down the hallway towards him. Tails hid close to the wall in a shadowed area and waited for the guards to walk by. He jumped out at them and in a flurry of golden-orange fur and shined metal, the robots were left on the ground, disabled and damaged beyond repair. Tails quickly whipped out a small screwdriver from the lining on the inside of the sole in his shoe and cannibalized the weapons in the robots to make a gun for himself. Two minutes later, he was back prowling through the halls with a makeshift handgun in his hand and a pack of ammo for it. Tails was noticing a pain in his arm and shoulder. He knew he had to find something that he could use as a sling. That's when he spotted a door that was closed to a crack. Tails looked inside the room.

It was a somewhat larger room than the one Tails had been locked up in, but it was a lot less empty. It had a large conference table running the width of the room in the middle, three old computers lining the opposite wall, and a large storage chest next to the doorway. Tails looked inside and found some rope, among other things that Tails had no use for. Tails tied it around his left wrist and his shoulders to make a makeshift sling. Then he heard something outside the door, down the hallway, that made his heart skip a beat. Footsteps. And they weren't robot footsteps. Tails gripped the gun and walked to the door, opening it to a crack and looking outside. He saw the black dog walking down the hallway towards him.

Tails aimed the gun at the dog. He aimed carefully. He knew he only had one shot, so he wanted to get it right. He wasn't all that excited about killing the dog, but he knew that as long as the dog was alive, however badly wounded, he was still a threat. And a very dangerous threat, at that. Tails watched the dog coming closer and took careful aim and pulled the trigger.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, did you like it? I hope so. It wasn't one of my best chapters, but it was still good. And I'm sorry for leaving you in another cliffhanger, but, in my defense, I didn't do it on purpose. It just seemed right to end there. Anyway, you'll have to wait a little while longer to read another chapter. I'm a little blocked again, so it might be a while. Sorry. So, until then, remember all the same stuff as before: review, flames and praises, favorite, alert, tell friends, and run down your street wearing a giant, orange cone on your head, singing random songs from Disney movies. **


	10. Decisions

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the tenth chapter of my "Final Battle" story. I really hope you like it. This one's a bit short, but it's got a lot in it. Anyway, read and enjoy.  
**

* * *

"Why didn't you tell us he was telekinetic?" asked Sonic impatiently.

"What?" asked Nate, taken aback at the question. "Who?"

"Dragon," said Sonic shortly.

"Because that's crazy?" suggested Nate.

"I saw it with my own eyes," said Sonic. "He held me to the floor while he carried their bodies out. I saw them all. They were all floating at least three get above the ground. He can move things with his mind. Why didn't you tell us this? This is something we needed to know!"

"Because I didn't know," argued Nate. "I didn't know that. If he's always been able to do that, then he's real good at hiding it, because I had no idea he could do anything like that." Sonic was silent for a minute before responding.

"Well, we don't need to worry about that right now," he said. "We need to focus on what we're gonna do to save Amy and Shadow. And avenge Tails." Sonic could barely say the name without leaving a hint of a cry in his voice. But Nate didn't see any tears in his eye. All he saw was rage. Pure anger that burned in his eyes. Sonic was pissed off big time and Nate knew that the person responsible should probably try hiding in a hole for the rest of their lives if they wanted to survive. And hiding like that may not even be enough to get away from Sonic's revenge.

"I'm sorry about Tails," said Nate quietly. "And you're right. We need to plan. I'll call the other two and you go find out where Robotnik's hiding." Sonic nodded and walked away.

Ten minutes later, Griffon and Unicorn were walking through the door and heading for the couch.

"Now, it might be the drinks I had, but I thought I heard you say 'telekinetic' over the phone, Phoenix," said Griffon as he plopped onto the couch next to Unicorn.

"I did," said Nate casually. "Dragon's a telekinetic."

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, you can't rule out anything with Dragon," said Griffon with a sigh. "And that would explain why we found the couch in the kitchen."

"Yeah, and the dents in the walls that looked like someone had had a child-throwing competition in here," said Unicorn.

"Yep," said Nate quietly.

"So we're gonna take him down," said Griffon. "Have we found him yet?"

"Yep," said Sonic as he entered the room. "An old, abandoned war base a couple miles outside of the city."

"Do either of you have any tools we could use?" Nate asked the assassin couple on the couch.

"Yeah, I hid a couple weapon stashes around here a while back," said Griffon. "Never thought I'd need 'em. I could go gather them up. Take me twenty minutes."

"Good," said Nate. "Then we have a half hour to get to the base. Go." Griffon got up and left them in the apartment.

"So, what's the plan here, Phoenix?" asked Unicorn.

"Wing it," said Nate shortly. "We can't plan against Dragon. He's too smart. The only way to keep him from predicting our moves is to play the whole thing by ear."

"That still sounds like a bad idea," said Unicorn.

"Got a better one?" asked Nate. Unicorn shook her head. "Good, right. Now, we need to get ready to leave as soon as Griffon gets back with his guns."

* * *

Dragon had spent the last fifteen minutes looking for Tails. He knew that he hadn't left the base because the guard bots at the entrance hadn't seen anything yet and they were still in one piece. He knew that Tails had to be somewhere in this base. That's when he noticed the door that he was walking toward. It was opened to a crack. Then he saw something that alarmed him. The muzzle of a gun. Or rather, he thought it was a gun. Or something similar. He was just in time making a good telekinetic shield when the gun went off. The bullet was launched at the shield that Dragon had produced and ricocheted off it into the wall. Dragon grabbed the shooter behind the door with his mind and launched them out of the room with the wave of his hand.

Tails was pulled out of the doorway and slammed into the wall. He felt the gun being pulled out of his hand and saw it float in front of his face. The dog reached out to it and clenched his fist. The gun was immediately pulled apart, unfired bullets and pieces of metal clanged as they hit the floor.

"You actually almost had me there, Tails," said Dragon with a smile. "I think you may be hanging out with Phoenix too much. That seems a little too much like his tactic. Hide and shoot. Hey, just like how he tried to kill you."

"Shut up," snarled Tails angrily. The dog waved his hand and Tails was thrown into the ground on his chest, slinged arm breaking his fall. Tails screamed aloud from the excruciating pain from his shoulder.

"Tails, what do you think is gonna happen when Sonic gets here?" asked Dragon calmly without looking down at Tails.

"Sonic is gonna kill you and Robotnik and save me, Amy, and Shadow," said Tails through gritted teeth.

"What if he fails? What happens then?" asked the black dog. Tails was silent. After a while, Dragon decided to answer for him. "You die, Tails. I'm gonna kill you. But that's not the point. My point is a question. What are you dying for? Why does Robotnik want you dead?"

"To get to Sonic," said Tails quietly.

"Exactly, so, what are you dying for?" asked the dog.

"What are you getting at?" asked Tails suspiciously. The dog let go of Tails and he got up on his knees.

"You're going to die because of the fight between Sonic and Robotnik," said Dragon calmly. "Does that seem right to you?"

"What do you care?" asked Tails angrily. "You're a killer. What did the people you've killed die for? Am I more important than them? Why do you care if I die or not? Why does my safety matter to you?"

"Because you're fourteen and you have so much potential," said Dragon. "You're only a kid, yet you're a genius and an expert mechanic, you can throw knives like a pro, and you've saved entire planets and civilizations on several occasions."

"So what's your point?" asked Tails. Finally, Dragon looked Tails in the eye. Tails saw something in them that he had thought impossible. Something that the assassin had actually laughed at only an hour ago. It was pity. The dog that stood in front of Tails, that had probably killed so many people, felt pity for the two-tailed fox in front of him.

"Your death here wouldn't benefit Sonic in anyway," said the dog quietly. "Is it really worth it to die here? And waste all that potential you have?"

"You say that as if I have a choice," said Tails.

"Because I'm giving you one," said the dog, taking his eyes off Tails. Tails widened his eyes in surprised confusion. "Telekinesis, Tails. It's a wonderful gift to have. Essentially, everyone has it, but rare is the capability to use it. Almost no one has the mental capability to use it anymore. Before, in times of old of Mobius, there were few who trained themselves to use it and other psychic abilities.

"During my travels as an assassin, I stumbled upon the ruins of a small, ancient society that prided themselves on the use of psychic abilities. I studied the art they had designed, experimented on my own brain, stimulating it with various procedures. I practiced and tested and experimented for two whole decades before I finally achieved a result. And then I was locked up because I got caught during the job I pulled with Phoenix and the others. Prison was the perfect opportunity to expand my abilities. Eventually, I used my improved skills to break out of prison and here I am.

"The reason I'm telling you this is because I want to pass on my skills. I need an apprentice. And your beautiful, brilliant, clever mind is the perfect candidate.

"I'm asking for you to think about the offer. I'm going to ask you later and I want an answer. The choice is to either die here with your friends or to come with me and learn my art. I implore you to think about this objectively, unaffected by your bias against me, but based on your interests alone. Not your friend's interests and not for the greater good or that whole philosophy. Think about how this will affect you. Decide which is the best way to go and tell me your decision. But I leave you with this. Your friends already think you're dead. Do you think it's better to let your friends die with or without having to watch you die again?" He turned around and left Tails on his knees, alone in the dim, silent corridor. Tails watched him drop something behind him as he walked away. It was his sling. Tails ran to pick it up and he put it on, feeling a lot more comfortable with it.

But that didn't change the feeling of self-conflict that the dog's words had evoked in Tails. He couldn't believe he was actually considering abandoning his friends to go with that insane killer. But the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to go with it. Tails was fascinated by the dog's power and the scientist in him wanted to study it, experience it, learn more about it and the megalomaniacal part of him wanted his own piece of that cake. He couldn't begin to imagine what would be possible if he could do the things that Dragon could teach him.

"No!" said Tails aloud sternly to himself. He couldn't believe that he was thinking about leaving his friends. But he also thought that this was an opportunity he couldn't miss.

But how do I know if this guy is being sincere? Tails asked himself silently. How do I know that he's not trying to kill me?

Because he could have killed me here and it wouldn't have made a difference, Tails argued to himself. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it here. And he's right that I have a lot of potential. I have a brilliant mind. And Telekinesis is mental power. I could be more powerful than him. I really need to go for this. This is once in a lifetime.

Tails knew that it wasn't like Sonic was going to die here. Sonic would win this fight hands down. And after that, what would happen? Things would stay quiet. There wouldn't be any more action, anymore fighting, anymore anything except a normal life. He needed something else after all this was done. And he and Sonic hadn't been on the best of terms lately. It wasn't like they were fighting, but they weren't as close as they used to be. Tails and Sonic didn't spend as much time together anymore. And Sonic already thought he was dead.

"Dead," said Tails aloud. He stood up with a start as he remembered that Sonic still didn't know he was alive. He started running to find the hedgehog and tell him he was fine. But he stopped after a couple paces and asked himself if this was the best thing to do. If he did leave, Sonic never need know that he ran off with a killer. Sonic could go on thinking he was dead until Tails decided to reveal otherwise to him. But how would Sonic react to that? How long would he be gone? How long would Sonic have to believe that Tails was dead? And what about his parents? He couldn't just up and leave them to think he was dead. Doing that to Sonic was bad enough, but to his parents and his friends? Tails walked over to the wall, leaned his back against it, and slid down to a sitting position. He put his head in his hand and started thinking everything through again. What was he going to do?

* * *

Sonic ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the city. Usually, when he ran like this, it made him feel relaxed. It cleared his mind and helped him to think. But all he could think about right now was killing Robotnik for Tails. His head was filled with nothing but hatred. He didn't even feel grief or sadness. He didn't have room in his head for those emotions right now. It was too full of anger and rage.

Sonic had waited for a while back at the apartment while Nate, Unicorn, and Griffon got a good head start. But now he was getting closer to the building where the man who killed Tails was residing. The building looked run down and older than his parents. There were two guard bots at the front entrance, but they were no match for Sonic. They didn't even see him coming. He spin-dashed them into pieces and broke down the door at the same time.

The inside of the building was dark and silent. It was dimly lit by light bulbs that Sonic thought should have been put in an ancient history museum a long time ago. The silence was broken by the sound of two metal doors sliding shut behind him and sealing the entrance. He was trapped in. Then he heard something that actually alarmed him. He heard the small, soft, dull thud of something hitting the door.

* * *

A large white van raced down the long road toward the old building. Nate was driving the van and Griffon and Unicorn were in back, locked and loaded for action. Griffon's collection of weapon stashes had been enough to turn the van into a small, mobile armory.

"Hey, Griffon," Nate called out. "The entrance just got sealed shut by a metal door. Take it down!" Griffon climbed into the passenger seat and pulled out a strange looking gun. It looked like a pistol, but Nate suspected that, by the size of the barrel, it would qualify as a small cannon.

Griffon leaned out the passenger window, aimed at the door, and fired. A small, white ball was launched out of the gun and hit the door, flattening on impact, with a small, soft, dull thud.

* * *

Sonic dove for cover as the door was blown into the room. It hit the ground with a loud crash and a white van drove in through the doorway. Griffon climbed out of the passenger side. He had on a white leather jacket and a pair of jeans. He also had a knife strapped to his belt, a pistol in a holster strapped to his thigh, a shotgun and an assault rifle slung on his back, and a grenade launcher in his hand. Unicorn stepped out of the side door. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a thick, tight, white turtleneck tank-top with a light blue denim jacket. She had two very large pistols in her hands, a very large assault rifle slung over her back, two more pistols strapped to her thighs, and a frag grenade strapped to her belt. Nate walked around the van. He was wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and blue jeans. He had one pistol strapped to his belt and a shotgun in his hands.

"You got anything else in there?" asked Sonic.

"Yeah, tons," said Griffon. Sonic was never one for guns, but he made an exception here. He climbed into the van and picked out two pistols with holsters he could use.

"Let's go," he said, putting the pistols in the holsters.

"Go where?" asked Nate. As if on cue, a door slid open in the opposite wall, revealing an elevator. Sonic shrugged and led the way to the elevator.

* * *

Tails woke with a start. He looked around at where he was, unable to remember. It was a dark hallway. He had no idea how he got there. He jumped as he heard a small explosion from somewhere under the floor. Then he remembered where he was. He remembered the choice that was offered to him by the dog. He remembered the argument he had with himself over what to do.

"Whoa, I must have fallen asleep," he said to himself aloud. "I've gotta go find Sonic!" He jumped up and ran, twin-tails propelling him forward. He still had no idea what he was going to do about Dragon's proposal. He still thought it would be a good idea to go along with it, but he also still didn't like the idea of leaving his friends and letting them believe he was dead while he went and trained under the teachings of a psychopath.

Tails found a flight of stairs and ran up them. He ran on down a hallway at the top and came to a stop at a balcony at the end of the hallway. He looked down from it and saw a large, empty room, on the end of which Robotnik sat in a large throne that was on a raised platform. Shadow and Amy stood on either side of him, bound at the hands and feet.

A set of doors opened at the other end of the room and a figure raced out of the doorway.

* * *

"Finally, Sonic," said the large, round man at the other side of the room slowly and happily. "You're mine." Sonic bolted across the room, but stopped short of the platform when he saw the two people standing on either side of Robotnik, bound at the hands and feet.

"Now, now, Sonic," said Robotnik with an evil grin. "Let's not rush here. Not when your friends' lives hang in the balance. Let's think of them first."

"What do you want?" snarled Sonic angrily.

"Your hide above my mantle," said Robotnik calmly. "Surrender and I will kill you all quickly. Don't and I'll make you watch me torture your friends to death. And then I'll do the same to you."

"Don't do it, Sonic!" yelled Shadow. The black dog that Sonic had met at the apartment walked out from behind Robotnik's throne and punched Shadow in the stomach. He doubled over gasping for breath.

"Let me show you why you should just surrender now," said Robotnik. He waved his hand to direct the attention of the hedgehog to the dog. Dragon grabbed the bent-over Shadow by the shoulder and forced him upright again. Then he placed his right index finger over Shadows left pectoral. He traced his finger down the right side of Shadow's torso and a line of blood followed the finger. The lined expanded and blood ran down his chest. Shadow screamed aloud from the pain. Then the dog ran his hand over the line of blood and the wound closed as his hand ran down it.

"This dog can carve up your friends like a Christmas ham and leave them alive," said Robotnik. "And in agonizing pain. Your choice now, Sonic. Surrender and you all die quickly. Fight it and you all die very slowly and painfully."

"Kill him, Sonic!" screamed Amy. Sonic looked at her, then to Shadow, then to Robotnik. Finally, he looked down at his feet.

"I give up," said Sonic quietly. He whispered the words, not believing that they had actually come out of his mouth. He had let everyone down. He let Tails down already, along with Knuckles, but now he was dragging Amy and Shadow down with him. And then there was the planet. Who would stop Robotnik from world domination now? He had finally been beaten.

"Take this," said Robotnik passing him a sealed capsule that was shaped like a pen. Sonic caught it and opened it. There was a syringe inside.

"What is this?" asked Sonic.

"It's a sedative," said Robotnik. "Take it and I swear you won't know what happens after that. You won't ever wake up."

"Right," Sonic whispered to himself. He took the syringe in his hand and stuck the needle in his arm. "It's... only dying."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ooohh, another cliffhanger. What's gonna happen to Sonic? Will Tails choose to leave his friends? Find out next time. It shouldn't be too long until i have a new one up. I am on a roll and my schedule just opened wide up, so I am writing like crazy! Anyway, hope you liked the chapter, review, tell friends, favorite, alert, and remember to always ask a mongoose if he has rabies before you give him your car keys. Seeya!**


	11. Conclusion

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's here! I'm kind of sad to say that this is the final chapter in the story. To say the least, writing this chapter felt like rubbing my forehead with sand paper for nine hours straight. I was so blocked on this chapter, I was banging my head on my desk out of frustration. But, it's done. Not my best chapter, but I think it's still good. It gets a little corny at certain parts and I'm not the best at writing funerals, so bear with me on those parts. So, read and enjoy!**

* * *

Sonic had barely broken his skin when he stopped himself.

"Wait," said Sonic. Robotnik raised his eyebrows at the unexpected delay. "What happens to Shadow and Amy after I'm out?"

"Dragon, here, will slit their throats," said Robotnik. "It's not exactly painless, but a lot less painful than the alternative. And a lot faster."

"Okay, then," sighted Sonic. He looked at Amy. "Amy, I'm sorry, but he's beaten me. I hope you can forgive me for this. I let you all down."

"It's okay, Sonic," said Amy with tears in her eyes. "I knew what I was signing up for."

"And I'm sorry for dragging you into this, Shadow," said Sonic as he turned to Shadow. "I never meant to bring you into it. If I hadn't shot Griffon, you'd have never had to be here right now."

"It's not your fault, Sonic," said Shadow indifferently. "Robotnik would have gone for me anyway."

"Okay, you've said your last words to each other," said Robotnik. "Now get on with it, hedgehog!" Sonic looked down at the needle in his hands. He pushed it further into his arm and put his thumb on the button on the top that would push the drug into his bloodstream. He was about to push down when something black blasted through the syringe, shattering it and spraying the clear liquid inside it all over the floor.

* * *

Tails watched as Sonic took the needle in his hand and stuck it in his arm. He couldn't believe that Sonic was doing this. That he was giving up. He couldn't believe that Sonic was letting Robotnik do this. Tails couldn't stand watching his big brother, who had saved his hide over and over, who had defeated the large man in the throne more times than Tails could count, just give up and end it by sticking a needle in his arm. Tails took his left arm out of the sling. He knew he wasn't supposed to use it a lot, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And this definitely qualified as desperate.

He pulled out two knives, one in each hand, and took careful aim. He let one loose at the syringe in Sonic's hand and the other at the black dog that stood beside Shadow.

* * *

Sonic stared in stunned amazement at the knife in the ground.

"T- Tails?" stuttered Sonic absentmindedly. He took the needle out of his arm and looked up at where the knife came from. Tails stood at the rail of the balcony, eyes shining with rage.

"How's that for an answer, Dragon?" yelled Tails angrily. Everyone looked over to the dog, who was now holding his upper arm where the knife had cut him. He yelled loudly and flung his hand out at Tails. Tails dove backwards into the hallway behind him as the balcony was torn from the wall and forced into the ceiling.

The entire room was filled with the sound of gunfire as Nate, Unicorn, and Griffon opened fire at Robotnik and Dragon. Robotnik sat in his throne, shielded from the bullets by some sort of force field. Dragon had his injured arm out in front of him to hold a telekinetic shield out to protect him from the bullets while he tried to stop the bleeding from the cut with his other hand.

Tails jumped out of what was now a giant, rectangular hole in the wall and choppered down to the floor. He had his arm in the sling again. Sonic ran over to him and embraced him in a bear hug.

"Oh my god, I thought you were dead," he said to Tails. He sounded extremely relieved. "What happened?"

"Explaining that could take hours," said Tails as he was released from Sonic's hug. "Right now we need to focus on killing Robotnik."

"Gotcha," said Sonic. He pulled one of the holsters off his hip and handed it and a gun to Tails.

"A gun," said Tails. "You ride in a car, you use a gun. This whole mess has a bunch of firsts for you."

"Yeah," said Sonic. "Now, stay alive long enough so this can be the first time I cancel your funeral."

"Got it," said Tails, taking the gun in his good hand. He and Sonic separated and ran in opposite directions.

"DAMN IT!" screamed Robotnik furiously. That was followed by a string of other profanities that he used to describe the "fox and hedgehog". "Time for plan B!" He pushed a button on the armrest of the throne and the walls below the platform retracted into the walls of the room. Behind them stood an army of robot drones. "I was saving these for after you were dead to send into the city to put it under siege, but I guess they'll do for killing you." The robots flooded the room and set to work fighting against the five warriors.

"Sonic! Help me! Untie me!" screamed Amy. Tails flew up to her and cut the ropes off of her arms and feet. "Oh, Tails. Why? I wanted Sonic to rescue me." Tails rolled his eyes and flew away to go free Shadow. Amy jumped down and dodged through the crowd of robots.

"Where's a gun I can use?" she asked Sonic when she found him.

"I got something better," he said reaching behind his back. He pulled out her hammer and handed it to her.

"Nice," she said somewhat evilly. "You are the best." She turned around and ran into the crowd of robots, swinging the hammer like a maniac. Meanwhile, Tails had just finished cutting Shadow free.

"Where'd Dragon go?" asked Tails as he sliced through the last rope.

"I don't know," said Shadow with a shrug. "He disappeared. Who knows what happened to him."

"Alright, fine," said Tails. He flew off and Shadow literally dove into the crowd of robots. He commenced throwing chaos spears, kicking, and punching at robots.

Sonic was busy fighting another robot when Nate came up to him and shot the robot for him.

"Sonic, we need to get outta here," said Nate.

"What about Robotnik?" asked Sonic. "I'm not leaving him here alive."

"There's a bomb in the van downstairs," said Nate. "It'll take out the whole building. We need to get everyone out."

"How long do we have?" asked Sonic.

"'Til Griffon flips the switch on his watch," said Nate. "I know you probably wanna kill him in person, but we're outnumbered."

"Right, let's leave," said Sonic. He ran over to the doors and pressed the button on the panel next to it. The door didn't open. Sonic tried pressing every button in the panel, but nothing happened.

"TAILS!" called Sonic. Tails dropped out of the air to his side.

"What?" asked Tails.

"Get this door open," said Sonic. "Give me your gun. I'll cover you."

"Got it," said Tails. He set to work on the panel with the screwdriver from his shoe.

After about two minutes, everyone had been cornered against the door by the robots. Tails was still working on it while everyone was covering him.

"Tails! Are you almost done?" shouted Griffon as he launched his last grenade at the crowd of robots.

"Yeah, just another sec and I can-" Tails was cut off by a bullet embedding itself into the circuitry of the panel. It sparked slightly and Tails looked inside it. "Damn it!"

"Can you fix it?" asked Sonic.

"No," said Tails.

"So what are our options?" asked Sonic.

"Well, right now, I think it best to defeat the army of killer robots first," said Nate as he blasted a robot with his shotgun.

"I agree," said Griffon excitedly as he pulled the assault rifle off his back and started shooting like mad into the crowd of robots. Unicorn did the same with hers and the robots started to recede slightly.

* * *

Dragon looked down on the battle from the giant hole in the wall that was left behind by the balcony that now was a part of the ceiling. He saw the seven warriors fighting the robots back. They were actually holding their own. Dragon could see, now, why Robotnik wanted these four Mobians out of the way. They didn't even need the three assassins that were assisting them. And if they could take on the robot army alone, then Robotnik had no chance against them.

Dragon knew he had to get out of there fast. As strong as he was with Telekinesis at his side, he knew he couldn't hold all seven off forever. He just wanted to get one more order of business out of the way. He kneeled down at the edge of the floor, leaned against the left wall, and positioned his hands in front of him as if he were holding a rifle. To anyone else, he would have looked insane, but he knew what he was doing. He took careful aim, concentrated hard, and fired, so to speak.

* * *

Tails was shooting down robots left and right when he heard the sickening noise of a bullet hitting flesh behind him. He turned around and saw Griffon with a large hole in his arm. It was gushing blood. The blood was flowing down his arm like a fountain.

"Griffon!" yelled Tails in alarm. He got behind Griffon as he went into shock and collapsed. Tails caught him, holding him up as best he could with one good arm, and dragged him back to where the enemy fire was less concentrated.

"Tails," grunted Griffon quietly. Tails looked at him. He was acting like they had known each other for years.

"What is it?" asked Tails.

"Get.. (cough) Unicorn..." he whispered painfully through gritted teeth.

"UNICORN!" shouted Tails. She finished shooting up a robot and ran over to Tails.

"What is it, fox boy?" she asked. Then she saw the blood seeping from Griffon's arm. Her face immediately fell. "What happened?"

"I guess I was shot," said Griffon painfully.

"Well, we have to stop the bleeding," said Unicorn quickly, grabbing a small cloth out of her boot. Griffon stopped her.

"No, you can't," gasped Griffon. "It hit my brachial artery. It won't stop bleeding." Tails and Unicorn knew that he had only a minute or two.

"No," whispered Unicorn, her voice breaking slightly.

"I wanna tell you something," said Griffon quietly.

"What?" asked Unicorn.

"My name," said Griffon. "It's Alfred."

"Mine's Dana," said Unicorn.

"I'm sorry, Dana," Griffon smiled sadly at her. Then he did something that Tails never saw coming. He grabbed her around the neck, brought her closer, and met her lips in a kiss. They remained in the embrace for a couple seconds before Griffon went limp in her arms. She released him with a look that resembled someone who had just been hit in the stomach with a driver.

"I'm gonna kill them," she whispered angrily. She got up and ran into the army of robots, shooting like a maniac. Tails could hear her screaming fade away into the sound of the gunshots and bullets flying overhead. He never saw her again.

* * *

Dragon smiled as he walked down the hallway and away from his perch. He knew that Griffon wouldn't be getting up after that. Then he heard screaming over the gunshots. It was a female scream. It stopped abruptly after a few seconds and Dragon's smile widened.

"Two birds, one stone," he said with an evil chuckle.

* * *

"Tails, come and help!" Tails heard Sonic shout to him from somewhere nearby. Tails jumped up into flight to look for where Sonic went.

"Sonic!" yelled Tails as he landed beside the cobalt hedgehog. He pulled out his gun and started shooting at robots.

"Hey, little buddy," said Sonic. "Where are Unicorn and Griffon?"

"They're not coming," said Tails grimly. Sonic looked at him with a surprised look. "I couldn't do anything to save them."

"It's alright," said Sonic as he turned back to the robot army. "Spoils of war." Tails and Sonic continued fighting against the army. They had no idea where Nate, Amy, or Shadow were. And Tails didn't care. This was what he had been missing for the last year of silence from Robotnik. Fighting side-by-side with his best friend. Secretly, some part of him wished that this would never end. That the robots would keep coming. He loved the fighting. Him and the hedgehog against all odds, doing anything that seemed impossible, but they managed to achieve unscathed somehow.

They kept fighting. They went on for another ten minutes, and Tails enjoyed every bit of it. But then the robots started to diminish. The crowd started thinning slowly. They were winning. By a long shot. Tails could see Amy knocking down robot after robot with her hammer and Shadow was spearing, kicking, and punching down several at a time. Nate was shooting robots with a pistol. After another five minutes, Tails shot down the last robot.

"Alright, Robotnik," said Sonic triumphantly. "We beat your little army down. Now give up. If you let us take you in, you don't have to die here. You might not even have to die at all. Life in prison sounds possible if you cooperate."

"Never, Sonic," said Robotnik with a cruel smile. "I've got more than a syringe, a couple hostages, and a robot army up my sleeves."

"Well, if you're talking about your dog, I think he's run away," said Tails with a laugh.

"Yes, it seems that my ace in the hole has run away from the fight," said Robotnik. "But just I because don't have an ace doesn't mean I still don't have a good hand." He pressed another button on his armrest and his entire throne transformed, before their eyes, into a giant turret gun. He turned the gun directly on Sonic and opened fire. Sonic bolted and dodged the fire.

"Shadow! Nate! Get Tails and Amy out!" yelled Sonic as he ran for his life. Shadow grabbed Amy and ran her to the wall.

"No! Shadow! Let me go!" she screamed.

"CHOAS-!" screamed Shadow. He disappeared and reappeared above her head in the hole in the wall. "-CONTROL!" He threw a rope down to Amy. "Amy! Grab the rope! Climb up here!"

"No way!" she said determinedly, turning back to the room. "I'm helping Sonic!"

"Amy! Get outta here!" yelled Sonic as he ran from the bullets. "It's not safe!"

"I'm not leaving you!" said Amy angrily. Nate ran up to her and stuck a needle in her arm. She slowly lost consciousness and Nate wrapped the rope around her.

"Get her up there!" Nate yelled to Shadow. Shadow hoisted her up and carried her to safety. Nate ran over to Tails.

"Alright, your turn," said Nate. He grabbed Tails' arm and tried to pull him to the wall, but Tails jerked free.

"Not a chance," said Tails sternly.

"Tails, your injured," said Nate. "You shouldn't be here in the first place."

"I'm gonna go take out the force field," said Tails.

"We don't need to," said Nate. He held up Griffon's watch. "I've got this."

"You have a watch off a dead body," said Tails with a confused look.

"I've got the detonator to a bomb in the van we came in downstairs," said Nate.

"Then I'm definitely not leaving Sonic behind if you're gonna blow him up," said Tails.

"He's gonna come after us," said Nate. "He wants us all out first. Let's go!" He pulled out another syringe. "Or you're next."

"Fine," said Tails reluctantly. He flew up to the hole found the rope that Shadow had used to hoist Amy up. He saw Shadow standing over Amy, who was slumped up against a wall, unconscious. "Where'd you get a rope?"

"It was up here when I got here," said Shadow with a shrug. Tails threw the rope down to Nate, who climbed up to him.

"C'mon," said Nate. He ran down the hallway and they followed, Shadow carrying Amy. They heard a whooshing sound as a cobalt blur sped past them. Sonic stopped somewhere ahead. They caught up to him and he ran alongside them. They came to the staircase that Tails had found earlier and ran down it. They past the floor Tails had come from and continued down until they arrived at a closed door at the bottom of the stairwell. They all stopped there to catch their breath. Well, Tails and Nate did. Sonic and Shadow just stopped with them.

"Glad we got away from him," said Sonic. "I'm glad I'm finally ending this. I mean, this kinda stuff will always be fun, but I want it stopped. We already lost Knuckles, I don't wanna keep playing with others' lives. Let's get outta here and end this." He opened the door and everyone walked into the next room. They were back where they started. Well, Nate and Sonic anyway. They saw the two metal doors on the ground, the scorch marks from the bomb, and the white van in the middle of the room. They all started walking to the doors when a scream rang out and stopped them all in their tracks.

"AUGHH!" They all turned to where Tails' scream came from. They saw Tails in the arm of Dragon, who was holding his other hand to Tails' head like a finger gun.

"Nobody move, or I blow his brains all over the wall," said Dragon quickly.

"How? You don't have a gun," said Sonic, immediately wishing he hadn't asked, gun now trained on Dragon's head. Dragon pointed his finger gun at Shadow and fired. There was no muzzle fire, no kickback, no sign that anything had happened, aside from an explosion of blood from Shadow's arm.

"Shadow!" yelled Sonic in surprise. "Get yourself and Amy out of here. Go back to the apartment!"

"Yeah, I'll just go there later and finish the job," said Dragon maliciously as Shadow carried Amy out.

"No, you're not gonna leave here alive," said Sonic angrily.

"If I don't, then neither does he," Dragon dug his finger gun into Tails' head.

"Why don't you kill him then?" asked Nate.

"Don't provoke him," hissed Sonic in a frustrated voice.

"No, think about it," said Nate. "Why hasn't he killed him? He wants something. With his power, he could kill us all without a thought. But he hasn't. He wants something and Tails is his leverage. What do you want, Dragon?"

"I want the fox," said Dragon.

"Why?" asked Sonic nervously.

"He wants an apprentice," said Tails. "He wants to teach me the 'art of telekinesis'."

"Well, that's not happening," said Sonic. "Especially if you kill him."

"If I can't have him, neither can you," said Dragon evilly. "I have no intention of killing you. However, if you surrender and walk away, I promise he'll live. But if you try to fight, you might kill me, but he will definitely die. Your choice, hedgehog."

"Nate, get outta here," said Sonic. "And don't forget your briefcase in the van. We don't want it being blown up."

Nate walk to the van and grabbed a briefcase out of it.

"Are we leaving him, Sonic?" asked Nate.

"No, I'm not leaving him," said Sonic quietly. "But you need to leave. Go back to the apartment and tend to Shadow's wound."

"Got it, Sonic," said Nate. "Good luck." He walked out the door, leaving Sonic, Tails, and Dragon alone.

"Leave, hedgehog," said Dragon. "Leave and he can live. Neither of us want him to die. But I'm not afraid to go there if I have to. But you are. Leaving is the best choice."

"He's right, Sonic," Tails told Sonic. "Let me go. If he gets me, you guys are safe. He won't bother you. But if you don't let me go, I'm not the only one that dies. He'll go for Shadow, Amy, Nate, and even you. And if you kill him, I still die."

"I'm not leaving you, Tails," said Sonic, his gun still trained on the canine's head. "I've already lost you twice today. I'm not losing you again."

"But if you don't leave me, you will lose me again," said Tails pleadingly. "Leave, and everyone lives. Stay, and I or everyone dies."

"Tails, usually, you're the know-it-all who had to explain everything to me," said Sonic with a sad smile. "But I'm the one who knows something you don't, Tails."

"Okay, I've had enough of this," said the dog angrily. The dog cocked his head, there was a small pop, a short, whistling sound, and blood spattered across the dog's face.

* * *

Nate was set up about two hundred meters away. He was lying on the ground with his rifle. It wasn't his most comfortable position, but it would do. He didn't think that the dog was paying attention to anything outside. He trained his gun right on the dog's forehead. He knew he could hit the dog easily, but he still took very careful aim. If he messed this up, it could mean Tails' life and possibly Sonic's, too.

The sniper chuckled at this. A few days ago, the sniper had been trying to hit the small, fox kit in the dog's arms, and in the hopes of killing Sonic, no less. Now he was trying to protect them.

He jerked his attention back to the target. He took aim and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Everything started going in slow motion for Sonic. He heard the small pop that was the gunshot from Nate and bolted towards Tails. He had Tails in his arms when the bullet hit the dog. He grabbed Tails and ran out the door with the fox in his arms. He didn't look back until he was at Nate's side.

"Damn," swore Nate after Sonic arrived.

"What?" asked Sonic.

"I must be cursed," said Nate. "It happened again. Dragon moved his head at the last second and I only hit his ear."

"Well detonate the bomb," said Sonic. "It's got a thirty second delay, but he won't be out of range by then."

"Right," said Nate as he pushed a button on the watch. Then Sonic took Nate by the hand and Tails under his arm and bolted for the city. They were in the city limits when they heard the bomb go off. They heard the building crumbling and they felt a slight shockwave as the strong, sonic pulse from the bomb rocketed through the city. Robotnik was dead.

* * *

"And that's when I saved you from killing yourself," said Tails later that night in the apartment when he had finished explaining everything that had happened.

"Wow, you're gonna need to visit the doctor to check up on your shoulder after that," said Sonic.

"So what are you gonna do now that Robotnik's not here to fight you anymore, Sonic?" asked Amy. "Have time for a personal life now?" She winked at him and smiled.

"Sorry, Amy, not happening," said Sonic as he leaned back in the recliner in the living room.

"Aww," moaned Amy sadly.

"You think you'll find another job?" asked Shadow. "Maybe one at G.U.N.?"

"And have to take orders from you?" asked Sonic with a smile. "I'd sooner date Amy. Hey, did you call G.U.N. and tell them about the bomb and Robotnik?"

"I explained everything to them," said Shadow. "I tried to keep your name out of it, Nate. Told them you died in the building with Griffon and Unicorn."

"What about freelancing?" asked Nate, changing the subject. "It works for me. Doing little odd-jobs here and there. I've even done some work for G.U.N. from time to time."

"Really?" asked Shadow. "I looked you up on the database and I never saw anything about any kind of jobs you've done for us."

"Like I'd actually let you guys know my name while I'm looking for you," said Nate. "I work under aliases when I do jobs."

"Like 'Jason Smith'?" asked Tails with a mocking smile.

"Like 'Tails'?" retorted Nate.

"Nickname, way different," said Tails dismissively.

"So, Knuckles' funeral's tomorrow?" asked Shadow.

"Yeah," said Sonic quietly, face falling slightly. He took a swig of the soda on the side table.

"You cancel Amy and Tails' ceremonies?" asked Nate.

"Yep," said Sonic shortly. He leaned back again and closed his eyes. "And I think freelancing sounds like a good idea, but what jobs would I do? I think staying a vigilante would be best. It's like freelancing, just without being hired to do a specific job."

"Good idea," said Tails as he sipped his soda.

"You're gonna have a lot of free time, now that Robotnik's gone," said Shadow.

"Yeah," said Sonic quietly. "Eh, I need it. Usually, I never wanna stay still, but after the last few days, I just wanna settle down for a while. Just relax here for a bit."

"Really?" asked Tails.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "Why not? I've never stayed still a second in my life. Why not try it once? It's not forever. Just until I feel like moving again."

"That sounds kinda nice," said Tails. He lay back in the couch and rested his head in his good hand. He yawned loudly and got up. "I'm going to bed." He walked down the hallway. They heard the door open and close and silence flooded the room. Then Sonic got up and walked into the kitchen. He grabbed some things out of the fridge and walked out a couple minutes later with a chili dog.

"I'm hittin' the sack, guys," he said after he finished. "Amy, feel free to stay in Tails' room. He's got a cot in the closet. It's actually really comfortable. I sometimes sleep on it if my back hurts for one reason or another. Shadow, you know where to go. Nate, you get the couch." They all nodded to him and continued to sit in silence. Sonic walked down the hallway and into his bedroom. As soon as he tumbled onto the bed and his head hit the pillow, he was out.

* * *

Sonic woke up the next morning feeling good. He felt more relaxed than he had in years. He didn't want to move. He wanted the indolent bliss to continue. He never wanted it to end. But he knew that it had to end at some point. He sat up in his bed and looked at the mirror opposite him hanging on the door. He was smiling. It was a relaxed smile. He imagined that this was how someone who just finished a very expensive massage felt. He saw Shadow's reflection in the mirror where he was sleeping on the floor under a single blanket. He was smiling, too. Sonic quietly walked out of the room, so as not to disturb Shadow, and walked down the hallway. He saw Nate on the couch, still sleeping. He walked into the kitchen and saw Tails quietly eating cereal at the table. Sonic glanced at the clock on the microwave. 5:45. The sun hadn't risen yet.

"What are you doing up?" Sonic whispered to Tails quietly.

"Got up early," whispered Tails with a shrug.

"Okay then," whispered Sonic, shrugging back. He quietly poured himself a bowl of cereal.

"So, you gonna make a speech or something today?" asked Tails.

"Maybe," said Sonic. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to do about that at Knuckles' funeral. He knew he was going to be expected to say something. But he didn't think he'd be able to. He was never good at public speaking.

"Well, it's not 'til later tonight," said Tails quietly. "You'll be able to think of something."

"Right," said Sonic quietly and absentmindedly.

"Did you tell Amy she could sleep in my room?" asked Tails.

"Yeah," said Sonic. "Do I owe you an apology?"

"No, I owe you a thanks," said Tails. "One of the most entertaining nights I've had in a while." Sonic choked on his cereal at the sound of this. He started coughing loudly.

"What?" asked Sonic loudly in a panic after he coughed up the cereal.

"What?" asked Tails looking slightly confused. Then a look of realization appeared on Tails' face, followed by a look of slight disgust. "Ugh! No way! God, Sonic, get your mind out of the gutter! That's sick! Me and Amy? GOD, NO!"

"Oh, phew," said Sonic looking relieved. "Wait, what was so entertaining about it?"

"She talks in her sleep," said Tails. "It was hilarious. There's no way she would have done anything with me, she was whispering your name all night."

"Wow, I feel sorry for you now," said Sonic.

"It was so funny," said Tails with a chuckle. "I kinda wanted of whisper in her ear as you to see where she'd go with it."

"If she'd woken up, she would've killed you," said Sonic with a laugh.

"That's why I didn't do it," said Tails. Then they heard a yawn from the couch.

"Oh, sorry, Nate," whispered Tails. "Did we wake you up?"

"Yeah, it's okay," said Nate from the couch. "I don't care. I'm gonna hit the shower."

"Cool," said Sonic absentmindedly. Nate walked down the hallway. The rest of the day went by quietly. Amy went home after she got up to go find a good outfit for the funeral. Sonic and Tails both dug up a good suit to wear. Shadow went home in the afternoon. Nate went to go get a suit for himself. Tails, Sonic, and Nate left for the funeral at around five.

* * *

Sonic stared into the open casket, looking over Knuckles. He actually looked a little happy, in Sonic's opinion. Sonic hoped that, wherever he was right now, he was happy. Tails walked up to Sonic's side and put an arm around him. Sonic felt a single tear run down his cheek.

"Wow, I hate funerals," Sonic said quietly to Tails.

"I know, right?" agreed Tails quietly. They both sat down together and waited for everyone else to view the casket. "They're so depressing."

"So, do you have any idea what you're gonna say up there?" asked Tails.

"Oh, probably the usual eulogy speech," said Sonic quietly. "Like, 'We're here to celebrate his memory', 'Knuckles was my best friend for years', and other stuff like that."

"Gee, that's thoughtful," whispered Tails sarcastically.

"Well, sorry," said Sonic defensively. "Honestly, I think Knuckles would appreciate really any eulogy at all from me. Ten bucks says he's here somewhere purely to watch me give it. God knows he'd get a kick out of it."

"What, like Tom Sawyer?" asked Tails confusedly.

"No, not like Tom Sawyer," said Sonic. "Like a ghost. I dare you to walk around while I'm talking, looking for cold spots and amused laughter from nowhere."

"That is so not gonna happen," said Tails with a chuckle.

"Alright, I'm just saying it'd be a good chance to experiment with the existence of ghosts," said Sonic.

"Don't try and tempt me," said Tails.

"Fine," said Sonic submissively. They both quieted down as a priest made his way up to the podium.

"Hello there," he started. "If all the mourners could please find a seat, we are about to begin the service." He waited a few minutes for everyone to be seated. Sonic looked around. They were in a very large church. There weren't a lot of people there, though. Just some friends and family. Knuckles was a quiet person. Sonic thought that he would want just a small, quiet ceremony. Sonic turned his attention back to the priest as he cleared his throat. "Now that we're all seated, I would like to start by saying that we're all here to celebrate the memory and passing of a great hero. We are here to say our final goodbyes to our dear friend, Knuckles, and celebrate here as his noble soul is accepted into the open arms of God. I think we'll start with a few words from his friends. First, let's welcome another great hero that was very close friends with our friend, Knuckles. Sonic The Hedgehog." No one made a noise. Everything was dead silent as Sonic made his way up to the podium.

"Hello, everybody," started Sonic, somewhat awkwardly. "Well, like the priest said, we are all gathered today to celebrate the memory of our friend, Knuckles, who was cruelly taken from us before his time. Actually, again, seeing as he died once before." Sonic stopped to take a quiet breath. He had no idea what to say.

"Anyway, Knuckles was one of my best friends," continued Sonic. "He was strong, focused, and stubborn as a mule. I'm gonna miss him a lot. He was like a brother to me. I just hope that wherever he is now, it's a better place than here." Sonic paused again and looked over the crowd. He saw Tails in the front row, staring up at him. He looked sad, but he watched Sonic with a sad sort of amusement in his eyes. Sonic suspected that Knuckles would be having the same amusement if he were here watching. Sonic also took a quick glance at Nate, who was standing in the back, leaning against the back wall and watching with an expressionless face. Sonic took another breath and continued. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this. Anyway, one last thing that I wanna say is that Knuckles was a great guy, a great friend, and a great hero to the planet." He looked at the open casket and saw Knuckles' smiling face. "Godspeed, Knuckles." Sonic got down from the podium and sat down next to Tails.

"That was good," said Tails. "I think Knuckles would have liked it."

"Thanks," replied Sonic quietly with a sigh of relief. The rest of the funeral was normal. Tails got up and said a few things, as did Shadow. Sonic ran into Sally Acorn after the ceremony. He had no idea she had shown up. He hadn't seen her in years. They talked for a while, made a lunch date for the next day, and parted ways.

Sonic walked home alone. Tails had already flown home and Sonic knew that Nate would go wherever. Sonic didn't feel like running right now. He wanted to give himself time to think before he got home. He decided that he would give himself some more time to think with a good run tomorrow morning. But right now, he felt like he did in the hospital after he saw Knuckles under the white sheet.

* * *

Tails was sitting on his bed in the apartment alone, thinking. He was thinking about Dragon's offer to him. He was thinking about what would have happened if he had taken it.

"Sonic, Amy, and everyone else would be dead right now," Tails told himself aloud. But he was curious about what he gave up. Was it worth it? Definitely. But Tails thought that if a psycho dog assassin could do it, so could he. He knew that this could take years and that this was probably going to be his biggest project yet. He also knew that he had to keep it totally secret. But if he kept progressing, the possibilities were beyond imagination. Almost beyond it anyway. He walked over to his computer and began doing research.

* * *

"Tails! I'm home!" Sonic yelled into the hallway when he walked in the door. When he heard no reply, he assumed that Tails had fallen asleep. Sonic walked into the room to make sure he had actually come back and found him on the computer.

"Hey, Sonic," said Tails absentmindedly, gaze transfixed on the screen.

"Okay, time for bed, buddy," said Sonic. "Long day, no need to exhaust yourself more by staying up all might on the computer."

"Yeah," said Tails. He shut the computer down and climbed into bed. Sonic left him alone and went to his room. Sonic was asleep as soon as he hit the pillow. He slept happily knowing that Robotnik was dead and this whole mess was over with.

THE END

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, was the ending good? I'm kinda sad it's over. Oh, wait. It might not be. I'm thinking of writing a sequel to it, but I'm not making any promises. And if I do, it may not be for a little while because I think my life is about to get real crazy again and I'm not posting anything until I write a few of the first chapters, just to see how it works. So keep an eye out for it. Anyway, time to leave you with my usual, same-ol', same-ol' message. Review, favorite, alert (Well, at least author's alert), tell friends, and remember to knock on the doors of every blue, police box you see on the street, for any whovians out there who are also big Sonic fans. Haha! So, 'til next time! Maybe! Remember, no promises.**


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